Falling Into Place
by VineWolf12548
Summary: Hermione has been away on assignment but hasn't been brave enough to come home for the past year and a half. Her long-awaited return surprises everyone. Everyone but Draco, that is... "It's good to see you." She says in an almost desperate attempt to hear him speak. "It's good to see you too. I like this." He lightly brushes the ends of her hair. The gesture makes her heart race.
1. Chapter 1: The Return

**Author's note** : Honestly not 100% sure where I'm headed with this yet but I had fun writing, so hopefully I figure it out soon.

 _Falling Into Place  
_ Chapter One: The Return

"Hermione, you look fine."

"Do I?" Despite Fleur's attempts to calm her, Hermione whips out her wand to tame her hair for what might be the seventh time since they flooed into the Burrow.

"You look fine." Bill says, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Ronald will _not_ know what hit him." Fleur offers with a small smirk on her face. Unfortunately, Ron isn't the _only_ person Hermione is nervous to see.

"Something hit Uncle Ron?" Victoire looks up from her book and asks.

"No, sweetheart, it's just a figure of speech." Her father explains.

"I'm surprised no one's home." Hermione can no longer sit still so she stands up and starts pacing.

"Mum owled me saying that she and Dad would be in Diagon Alley for a few hours and that everyone else would arrive around 3." Bill looks down at his pocket watch. "Two fifty-seven." Hermione sighs inwardly.

It's been 10 years since the war ended.  
Three years since she and and Ron decided that things weren't working out between them.  
Two and a half years since she started her job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.  
Two years since the Minister began sending her all over the world to network with other ministries of magic.  
A year and half since she'd last come home.  
And a year since Ron and Lavender had started dating.

She distinctly remembers the day she received Ron's owl.

' _I wanted you to hear it from me,'_ he had written.

It's not that Hermione was-or is- jealous, per se. It's just that.. she feels so bitter about the whole ordeal. She made it perfectly clear to Ron that she detested his little fling with Lavender during their sixth year. Now here he is, happily dating her.

' _I'm happy you're happy_ ,' she had written back. And she really was. But did it _have_ to be Lavender _sodding_ Brown?

Suddenly, green flames fill the inside of the fireplace so Hermione steps a safe distance away. In come Arthur and Molly.

"Grandmum, Grandpa!" Victoire jumps up from the couch and runs into their waiting arms.

"Hello Vickie. You're getting bigger and bigger every time we see you." Molly says into her hair.

"You just saw me last week, Grandmum!" Victoire laughs and pulls away.

"How is your Grandma Appoline?" Arthur asks.

"She's good!"

"She sends her regards." Fleur says with a smile.

"Hi Molly. Hi Arthur." Hermione calls attention to her presence. She had been standing off to the side, out of their line of vision when they came in.

"'Mione is that you?" Molly gasps. "We had no idea you'd be coming!" She and Arthur rush toward Hermione and pull her into an embrace.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Hermione received Harry's owl a month ago.

' _Ginny and I are engaged. I proposed last night with the ring you told me to get her. She loves it, of course. I wanted you to be the first to know so I convinced Ginny to wait until tomorrow night to tell everyone else..'_

Sure enough, another owl came the following night. This time from Ginny.

 _'We're having an engagement party next month. Hopefully Kingsley will at least let you come home for this. You'll be in France by then, right? I miss you. Harry misses you- probably more than I do. We hope to hear from you soon.'_

Hermione wrote back to congratulate them but didn't commit to coming home for the party. Little did everyone know, Kingsley _always_ offered her time off. But after finding out about Ron and Lavender, she decided to keep her distance and spent the past year immersed in her work. She honestly might not have come home if she hadn't run into Bill, Fleur, and Victoire yesterday at a Parisian cafe she frequented.

 _'You know I have to tell them that we ran into you. Make it easier for everyone and just come home. You'll hate yourself for missing an occasion as special as this,'_ Bill had said. She knew he was right.

"Are you done with your work in France?" Arthur asks after releasing her. Molly keeps a firm arm wrapped around her.

"I am."

"That's wonderful, dear." Molly gushes and gives her a squeeze. "Ginny told me that France was the last part of your assignment. Does this mean you're home for good, then?"

"It was and I am."

"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful."

"That Kingsley relies too much on you. I should give him a piece of my mind." Arthur says, which makes them all laugh. "We're glad to have you home." He smiles and tips his head toward Hermione.

"I'm glad to be home." She responds with as much sincerity as she can muster. Easier said than done.

"Let's go out back, shall we? I need to make sure everything is in order." Molly releases her.

"Of course you do, dear." Arthur chuckles then greets Bill with a pat on the back.

"Molly, what do you need me to do?" Fleur asks as she follows Molly outside. "Come along, Vickie. Let's help your grandmum." She calls to her child.

"Yes, Mummy." Victoire responds obediently. "I'm going outside, Daddy. Are you coming?"

"I'll be right behind you, sweetheart." Bill says then returns to conversation with his father.

"Aunt Hermione, you come too."

"I will, Vickie, in a few moments. I just need to freshen up."

"Why?"

"I need to make sure I look nice before the party begins."

"You're already very pretty, Aunt Hermione. You don't need to." Victoire rolls her eyes as if her aunt is absurd for thinking otherwise.

"Not as pretty as _you_." Hermione says and she gently pinches one of Victoire's cheeks. A wide grin spreads across the child's face and she begins to giggle happily.

"Go on, Vickie. I'm sure Mummy is looking for you." Bill urges her on. "We'll be right out." With one last grateful smile at her Aunt Hermione, she runs out the back door.

"She is so smart." Hermione comments.

"I reckon she got some of that from watching you." Bill replies.

"Well she had to get it from _somewhere_." Another person's voice surprises them. Hermione, Bill, and Arthur all look up to see George standing at the back door. "Hermione Granger, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"Hi George." Hermione smiles as he approaches her. "It's good to see you."

"Wish I could say the same."

"George, don't be rude!" Even after all these years, George still finds ways to make his father scold him. At least Arthur is already used to it.

"Dad, she knows I mean no harm." George claps a hand on her shoulder. "It's just, now that she's here, I owe Draco 50 galleons." Hermione's face goes blank. She should feel insulted that George bet against her, but she's more preoccupied with the word 'Draco.'

"You two are ridiculous." Bill rolls his eyes then sees Hermione's face. "You alright, 'Mione?"

Within the first few years following the war, she and Draco Malfoy exchanged pleasantries only a handful of times- they attended the same Ministry events. But then he and Harry started to get along fairly well, especially after Ron left his job at the ministry. At the time, Draco had been working as a sort of consultant to the Auror program- providing intel on dark wizards and former death eaters. Hermione didn't disapprove of their friendship because, honestly, Draco Malfoy seemed to have turned a new leaf. He took his job seriously, was cooperative, and was-for the most part- actually... nice. Harry started inviting him to their weekly Friday night dinner so she went from seeing him a few times a year to seeing him once a week. It wasn't until Kingsley hired him into her department- just a week after she had been hired herself- that he became a permanent fixture in her daily life. She tried keeping interaction to a minimum, she really did. But her efforts were proven futile when he moved into the desk across from hers.

 _'You two are the best of the best in this department. A bit reminiscent of your Hogwarts years, is it not? Big plans for you two.'_ Kingsley had said one month into their working together. _'I forsee a rather harmonious partnership.'_ He wasn't completely off base. The pair _did_ work quite well together- when they weren't squabbling, that is.

' _You are an infuriatingly stubborn woman! Why do you always have to be right?!'_ Draco yelled at her one Friday morning. That particular day marked their third month as co-workers.

' _Like_ you're _any better! You're just as stubborn as me! Maybe even_ more _!'_ She countered before slamming a piping hot cup of coffee onto his desk. They did this often- fight during their morning coffee break. So often, if fact, that Kingsley had moved them from the general work area into their own separate, private offices. Clearly, the 'separate, private offices' thing didn't stop them from fighting. But no matter how frustrated they were with one another, they always took turns getting each other coffee.

' _I just think that bill is complete rubbish and I've no idea why you think any part of it makes sense!'_ He was still yelling.

And apparently, so was she. _'It's not my fault you can be so narrow-minded!'_

' _We're going to have to compromise on this bloody thing, alright? It needs to be ready for Kingsley by Monday.'_ His anger always simmered down as soon as he took a sip of his coffee. It was never quite so easy with her, though.

' _I know, I know! It's completely stressing me out. If you hadn't kept shooting my ideas down, we would have had this finished by now!'_ She sighed loudly and plopped into the seat in front of his desk.

' _Thank you for the coffee. Perfect, as usual.'_ He said absentmindedly- completely ignoring her yelling- as he read over the papers on his desk for the twelfth time this morning. She softened at his words of gratitude. She always did, because something about the way he said 'thank you' made something bubble up in her chest.

"'Mione, I said are you alright?" Bill repeats himself, which brings her mind back to the present.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… haven't spoken to Draco since the last time I came home…"

"That long, huh? Well, he's still the same old prat. You haven't missed out on _too_ much." George wants to say more but he knows it's not his place to tell her what she _has_ missed.

"You all have to come outside! Grandma wants you there!" Victoire yells from the doorway and then runs away. After a split second, she comes running back. "Please!" In a flash, she's gone again. The four adults laugh and begin making their way outside.

The usual tent is set up outside, hovering a few yards away from the house.

"Are we expecting a lot of guests?" Hermione asks. She doesn't see why they'd need to use the large tent, considering it's just the engagement party, not the actual wedding.

"Not particularly. But it's _Harry Potter's_ engagement party. You never know who might show up." George answers, all the while chuckling.

"Molly and I just wanted to be prepared." Arthur explains, chuckling right along with his son. It was actually all Molly's ridiculous idea, but he didn't want to throw his wife under the bus like that. Harry assured them that this would be a private gathering for family and close friends.

The familiar crack of apparition sounds from somewhere in front of the house. After all those months hunting horcruxes with Harry, Hermione had a keen ear for it- keener than most.

"Someone's here." She announces to everyone. They all turn toward the house to see who will come through the back door.

"I seem to be early." Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice reaches their ears as he appears in the doorway.

"Glad you could make it, my friend." Arthur meets him halfway and they share a firm handshake.

"Good afternoon, Minister." Everyone greets him.

"Good afternoon to you all." Kingsley responds then looks to Hermione. "Hermione, I'm glad you were able to finish in time to attend this party." He approaches her with a warm smile on his face. He is well-aware that Hermione completed her assignment a week ago, but he willingly offered to be part of her alibi had she decided not to come home.

"Me too." Hermione smiles back.

Kingsley's presence puts her mind at ease- probably because he's really the only person she's seen in the last year and a half. Her time away has made her feel a little out of place. The two get to talking about work and France's Minister for Magic. They've been so wrapped up in conversation that she doesn't hear people come through the back door or sense said people quickly approaching.

"'Mione." A man's voice says from behind her. A calm voice that's full of relief. She'd know that voice anywhere and it makes her eyes well up with tears.

She turns around and responds just as calmly, "Harry." Her voice mimics his relief. They approach each other slowly.

"You made it."

"I did." A second of silence passes between them before she suddenly embraces him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." He replies. Tears stream down her face now. She has no idea why she even considered staying in France.

After a few seconds, Ginny appears in Hermione's line of vision- she's smiling softly, patiently waiting to be called over. Hermione holds onto Harry for another second more before releasing him.

"Ginny, get your arse over here." Hermione calls to her friend. She links one of her hands with Harry's and uses her free hand to reach out to Ginny, who takes it gratefully. "Congratulations. I am so happy for you two." She gives both of their hands a squeeze.

"We're so happy you're home." Ginny says and squeezes back. "You look beautiful. Your hair looks great, when did you start styling it like that?"

"Oh." Hermione nervously pats down her hair. "About a year ago… It was a bit impulsive." She added layers and cut it to be just below her shoulders, which was a lot shorter than she was used to- she always kept it near the middle of her back. She also started using a spell and a few hair products that tamed her curls into soft waves.

"I can guess why." Ginny says, offering a sympathetic smile.

"Is he bringing her?" Hermione asks cautiously.

"I think so... For what it's worth, he debated bringing her for two weeks. He didn't want to make you uncomfortable. In the end, he decided he _should_ bring her because he missed you. And he wanted you to see that she's different now." Harry replies and scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

" _Is_ she?" Hermione's voice is filled with suspicion.

"A little... She's getting there. Honestly, I think she's trying to be better mostly for our benefit rather than Ron's. She doesn't want anyone to hate her." Harry explains while Ginny nods in agreement.

"Are you going to be alright?" Ginny asks.

"I think so. Really, as long as he's actually happy and she doesn't rub it in my face, I think I'll be alright. Besides, I have you two to keep me company." They smile widely at her.

"Draco will be here too." Harry adds. She knows that he means to make her feel better, but he has no idea that thinking about Draco twists her stomach in knots.

The three of them situate themselves at a table and begin to catch up. Even with the frequent owls, there's still so much for them to talk about. Hermione updates them on her last few weeks in France and the couple describes the night Harry proposed.

Slowly, guests begin to arrive, making it impossible to continue conversation. First, Neville and Hannah Abbott. Luna floats in shortly after them. Seamus and Dean. Percy and his family. Even Charlie came all the way from Romania. Professor McGonagall and Hagrid arrive together. Andromeda walks in with Teddy, who immediately pries his hand away from his grandmother's to play with Victoire. While the celebrants stand by the entrance of the tent to greet everyone, Hermione gets cornered by Cho Chang, who is just dying to know about her work at the Ministry.

"I thought we said this would be a private gathering." Ginny mumbles under her breath to her fiance.

"We did." Harry responds quietly as Ginny gives Angelina a hug.

"I suppose this is what I get for falling in love with the Chosen One." Ginny teases, linking her arm with his. He leans over to kiss her on the cheek.

"Hey, you two. You agreed to ease up on the public displays of affection in front of me." Ron's voice is bubbling with amusement.

"You're always late to these things." Harry laughs and rolls his eyes.

"Better late than never." Ron counters.

"Hello, Lavender." Ginny greets the woman clutching onto Ron's arm.

"Congratulations. This is all so wonderful." Lavender gushes. Ron doesn't bring her around often, so when he does, she always seems especially willing to suck up to the family. Ginny thought about using that to her advantage, but she soon realized this is the happiest she's seen her brother since he and Hermione broke up.

"Thank you. We're happy to have you." Ginny replies. Then she turns to her brother and gives him a pointed look. "'Mione's here."

"She came?" Ron asks, feeling a strange mix of excitement and anxiety. Excited to see her but also very anxious, as this is the first time he'll be seeing her since he started dating Lavender. He looks over at his girlfriend to gauge her reaction. It's like she's seen a bloody ghost or something- her eyes wide, jaw slacked, and color drained from her face.

"Go say hi." Ginny instructs him. For being the youngest sibling, she is _very_ bossy. A trait she picked up from her mother, no doubt. Harry loves that about her. Ron, on the other hand, not so much.

"I will, I will." He sighs loudly then catches sight of Hermione talking to Cho Chang. She's facing their direction but hasn't noticed them."Lav, it'll be alright. She doesn't hate you. Just… be nice and she'll be nice back."

"Okay." Lavender squeaks. She and Ron begin walking toward Hermione but after a few paces, Ron turns to look back at Harry and Ginny.

"Will you come with us?" He asks, almost pathetically. Anxiety is starting to take over.

"I think it's better if we don't." Harry says calmly. "You'll be fine. You already know she's not mad at you."

"I know.. I just…" Ron sighs again and slumps his shoulders. He doesn't finish the rest of that sentence. He'd rather _not_ tell his girlfriend that he feels like he might lose one of his best friends because of her.

"You'll be fine." Harry repeats to encourage him. Ron nods then continues walking toward Hermione. They're only a few steps away when she finally notices him.

"It was good catching up, Cho. But if you'll excuse me…"

Cho turns around to find out who Hermione is looking at. As soon as she sees it's Ron, she quickly ducks out to give them their privacy. The two exes stand a good distance away from each other, both feeling unsure of how to make this the _least_ awkward as possible.

"You're back," Ron breaks the silence.

"Yes, finally." Hermione says and forces a small smile.

"Your hair is different," He points out.

"Er, yeah. I wanted to try something new." She runs her fingers through the ends.

"It looks nice." He states simply in a way only Ron could. This makes her smile sincerely.

"Thanks." She looks at Lavender now. The woman is basically hiding behind Ron's shoulder. Hermione almost laughs at the sight- she never thought she could frighten someone this much. Lavender takes the eye contact as her cue to say something.

"Hello, Hermione." She says politely as she steps out from behind Ron. "It's been a long time. The years have not aged you one bit, even with a job so time-consuming and, as I can only imagine, stressful."

"That's very kind of you." Hermione replies. "I hope Ronald has been treating you well." She says this light-heartedly, hoping it will break the tension. It does. Ron grins widely and smile makes its way onto Lavender's face.

"He's a perfect gentleman. His mother and, I'm assuming, you taught him well." Lavender looks at him lovingly.

"We did, didn't we?" Hermione says proudly and laughs.

"They did." Ron agrees.

"Now, there's no reason for any awkward-ness between us. Okay? I'm happy you're happy. Don't you dare worry about me." Hermione declares definitively. "Let's enjoy this party and look forward to spending more time together." She nods once as if to assure herself that she means every word she's saying.

"I'm... I'm really happy to see you." Ron says, taking a tentative step closer to her.

"I'm happy to see you too, Ron." She closes the gap between them to give him a hug and lets out a quiet sigh of relief when he responds by hugging her back. "Alright, go say hi to everyone. I'm sure Molly has been looking for you." She releases him and pushes him toward his girlfriend, who is smiling softly.

"I'll make sure he saves a dance for you." Lavender says before they turn to leave.

"Enjoy your night." Hermione says. They nod their heads and smile then go on to find Molly.

As soon as they're out of earshot, Hermione exhales loudly. That went _way_ better than expected. Lavender does seem to have changed a lot- enough to actually impress her. And Ron looks so happy. It'll take some time until she's _fully_ comfortable with them, but tonight was definitely a good start. She scans the inside of the tent. Everyone already seems to be having a good time even though the night's barely just begun. Harry catches her attention- he's looking expectantly at her.

"All good?" He mouths. She nods in response and offers a confident smile. He's satisfied with that so he smiles back and returns to entertaining his guests. Hermione begins to turn away when a flash of platinum blonde hair appears in her periphery. _Of course_. Just when she's able gather her bearings from the last emotionally stressful encounter, another one comes up. Taking a deep breath, she turns back to look in his direction.

Draco Malfoy stands in front of Harry and Ginny. Fashionably late, which is very unsurprising. He doesn't look much different. Other than the fact that he's let his hair grow out a little, he's still the same infuriatingly attractive man he's always been.

She last saw him on New Year's Day a year and a half ago- the last time she was home.

They had all spent New Year's Eve at the Burrow. Then on New Year's Day, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Draco decided to have lunch together. Ron was supposed to join them, but he was too hungover from the night before. After they ate, Hermione, for some ridiculous reason, was really craving ice cream.

 _'Let's go to Florean's!'_ Hermione exclaimed as the four of them walked down Diagon Alley.

 _'Are you mad? It's freezing!'_ Ginny said in shock. _'You're the only one who wants to freeze their arse off even more.'_

 _'Idunno, ice cream sounds kind of good right now.'_ Draco agreed with a shrug.

 _'Thank you, Draco. See, I'm not the only one.'_ Hermione gave Ginny a pointed look then looked to Harry to ask for his opinion on the matter. But one look at him bouncing from one foot to the other was enough indication that he was too cold to have ice cream. _'Well, then. What now?'_

 _'You two can get your ice cream. Don't mind us. We actually planned on heading home soon anyway. I want to cuddle up by the fire.'_ Ginny held onto Harry's arm more closely as she said this.

 _'Vomit.'_ Draco made a gagging noise. Hermione laughed and Harry smiled. Ginny smacked Draco on the arm.

 _'Shove off.'_ Ginny warned jokingly.

 _'Alright, alright. Don't bite my head off. Go on home, you lovebirds. Hermione and I will enjoy ourselves without you.'_ Draco clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder then gave it a push.

 _'What time are you leaving tomorrow, 'Mione?'_ Harry asked.

 _'After lunch.'_ Hermione replied. _'Come see me before I leave?'_

 _'You know we will.'_ He said then kissed her on the cheek. After they all said their goodbyes, Harry and Ginny apparated home.

 _'What flavor are you going to get?'_ Hermione asked Draco and they stood in the ice cream parlour. They were the only customers there.

 _'Coffee, as usual. You?'_

 _'I think I want cookie dough.'_ She said thoughtfully as she tapped a finger to her lips.

 _'How old are you, again?'_ He teased.

 _'Shut up. It's delicious.'_ She proudly stepped up to the cashier and placed her order.

After receiving their ice cream, they apparated to his flat. They did this often, when they were working on a big project together- go to Florean's right after leaving the Ministry, apparate to his flat, and work on their project until it was too difficult to stay awake. It was the first time they've done this casually, but they've grown so used to their routine that they didn't even think twice about it. It wasn't until they were seated in the living room that they realized they had nothing to talk about other than work. So... they talked about work.

 _'So where are you headed off to this time?'_ He asked her.

 _'I'll be in Japan. For about a month.'_

 _'Travelling sounds exhausting.'_

 _'It is. But it's been a life changing experience. I've learned so much.'_

 _'I believe that. Kingsley comes into my office with daily updates about your assignment. It's like you never left.'_ He rolled his eyes and she laughed.

 _'So how's it been at the Ministry?'_

 _'It's been alright. Kingsley refuses to hire a temp to take your place so I'm stuck doing all our work by myself.'_

 _'Nothing you can't handle.'_ She pointed out.

 _'True. But I've kind of missed having you around. The past six months have been weird- I don't have anyone to argue with, no one to bounce ideas off of, and worst of all, I always have to get my_ own _coffee.'_ She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a fluttering in her chest- the whole statement caught her completely off guard. Sure, they prided themselves in their ability to speak candidly with one another and sure, they had grown quite fond of each other over time... But never had they gone so far as to express that fondness in words. They were hardly friends, honestly. And both of them were well-aware of that. The only things they really knew about each other were the things relevant to work. This included work ethic, the way they took their coffee, what they normally brought for lunch, and their favorite ice cream flavor.

 _'You have to get your own coffee? The absolute horror.'_ She said exaggeratedly.

 _'You know, you're incredibly sarcastic for a Gryffindor.'_ He pointed his spoon at her.

 _'I just think I've spent too much time with you. Is being a Syltherin contagious?'_ She arched an eyebrow and looked at him expectantly.

 _'No, but my wit definitely is. That's another thing I've missed- someone who understands by high-brow humor. Really, Hermione, I should be upset with you for leaving me with Wonder Boy and the two gingers.'_ He placed his empty cup on the coffee table and sunk further into the couch.

 _'Well it's not like I want to be away from all of you for months at a time. It's good to know I'm missed, but I do think those three are turning you soft, Draco.'_ She teased and scooped up the last of her ice cream.

 _'That's exactly what I was afraid of.'_ He looked at her then, his eyes lingering a little longer than usual at her face. _"You've got a little chocolate syrup."_ He pointed at a spot above his own lip.

 _'Oh.'_ She was mildly embarrassed but it was Draco- she knew he wasn't actually trying to embarrass her. She used her pinky finger to wipe at the area she thought he was referring to. ' _Gone?'_

 _'No. Right there.'_ He shook his head and pointed at his lip again. Again she wiped at her skin and came up unsuccessful. _'Merlin, this is why grown women don't get cookie dough ice cream with toppings.'_ He promptly reached out and wiped his thumb at the corner of her upper lip. He let his thumb linger there for a few seconds before saying, _'I'm going to do something. Don't hex me. And don't hit me like you did third year.'_ He instructed and she laughed nervously.

 _'Alright but you're making me nervous. Is there something else on my face?'_

 _'Shh.'_ Before she knew it, he was leaning forward and his lips were on hers. Needless to say, she was stunned. She made no movement and, at first, neither did he. But then he leaned into her more- not quite to deepen the kiss but to try to illicit some sort of reaction from her. She should have taken that as her cue to move away. She didn't. Instead, her eyes fell shut and she let out an audible sigh so he decided to deepen the kiss. One of his hands made its way to the side of her face to cup her cheek and eventually to the back of her neck. That just did it for her, really. She got lost in the feeling of their tangled lips moving in complete sync. Then she moaned into his mouth and he responded immediately by releasing her neck and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her flush against him. She was just about ready to straddle his lap when she suddenly pulled away.

 _'Draco. Draco, wh-what's going on?'_ She tried not to stumble over her words, but it was hard when she was so out of breath.

 _'Your lips are not at all misleading. They really are as soft as they look.'_ He ignored the question completely.

 _'If this was some sort of twisted joke just to get a rile out of me, I have no qualms about hexing you into the next century.'_ She scooted herself further away from him.

 _'No, it wasn't a joke.'_ He said exasperatedly.

 _'Then you just kiss people for fun?'_ She really hoped the answer was no.

 _'You're ridiculous.'_ He rolled his eyes.

 _'Says the person who just kiss-attacked me!'_ She yelled defensively.

 _'Did you just say 'kiss-attacked'?'_ He gave her a pointed look, clearly amused. _'First the cookie dough ice cream with chocolate syrup and now this? Really, how old are you?'_

 _'Oh shuttup! You're such a git.'_ She crossed her arms and turned away. _'I don't even know why I kissed you back.'_ Of course she knew, but her pride was more important.

 _'But you did kiss me back.'_ He stated. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. _'Now tell me, are you not at all attracted to me? Because I'm sure as hell attracted to you. I have been for a few years now, but I never thought to act on it because I didn't take you for_ that _kind of woman.'_

 _'And, what, now you_ do _take me for_ that _kind?'_ She was starting to feel insulted.

 _'No, you insane woman. Now, you're not just a pretty face. I've taken quite a liking to your personality. Who knew there was more to Hermione Granger than being the insufferable know-it-all?'_

 _'If you're trying to sweet-talk me into fancying you, you're doing a terrible job at it.'_

Ignoring her jab, he continued, _'Your absence got me thinking about you. More than I'd like to admit. And I decided I liked you enough to explore this relationship. Granted, I needed to know if you felt anything for me.'_

 _'So you kissed me as means of finding out.'_ No matter how many times she said it out loud, it didn't make this any less crazy.

 _'I spent so much of my life being told what to do and being scared of messing up. After the war, I wanted to become a man of action. Do things the way I wanted and the way I thought was right.'_

' _And what if this whole thing backfired?'_

' _You're a formidable woman, Hermione Granger. You and those lips of yours are well-worth the risk of being hexed. Or worse, hit.'_ She rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance, but she couldn't help the heat that rose to her face. After a few moments of silence, looked at him thoughtfully, unsure of what to say. _'Well?'_

 _'Idunno, Draco. You've proven that you're a good person and I am so grateful to have you as a partner. And you are undeniably handsome...'_ She came to terms with that years ago when he attended a Ministry event dressed in a muggle suit. She told him that she never thought she'd see the day and he only responded with a smirk- much like the smug smirk plastered on his face at that exact moment. _'But we hardly know each other. The only person I've been with is Ron and we had been best friends for years.'_

 _'There's nothing wrong with getting to know each other along the way.'_

 _'I know, but... I'm leaving again tomorrow. And who knows when I'll be back. I just... don't see how this would work out.'_

 _'I see.'_ He paused. _'So just to clarify, you feel the same way I do, then? About_ this _.'_

' _To give you a real answer to your question, yes, I am attracted to you. And I do seem to genuinely enjoy your company so exploring_ this _,'_ she pointed her finger back and forth between the two of them, _'is something I_ might _be interested in._ Might _. However, timing just isn't in our favor. I need to think things over- to figure out what I want. When my assignment is done and I'm back home for good, and if you still feel the same way,_ maybe _we could talk about it more. But for now, things will have to stay as they are.'_

' _I understand.'_

' _I'm sorry.'_ She apologized softly.

' _There's nothing to be sorry about.'_ He said confidently.

Hermione is brought out of her reverie when his eyes finally meet hers. The two find themselves in a staring contest and, of course, neither will back down. She watches as he excuses himself from Harry and Ginny and as he walks toward her purposefully. Unlike Ron, he is unafraid to close the gap between them. He stands so close that she has to angle her head upwards to maintain eye contact

"I had no idea you'd be here." He says. His voice is as smooth as she remembers.

"No one did." She explains. "But that didn't stop you from placing that bet with George." He smirks, pleased with himself for being right about her.

"Hi," is all he says next.

"Hi." She repeats.

"Are you… back? For good, I mean."

"I am." She again remembers what they had talked about year and a half ago and she wonders if he'll bring it up. He doesn't- he knows that it isn't the right time.

"I'm glad."

"So am I."

"When will you be back at the Ministry?"

"I'll be back in my office on Monday with _both_ our coffees."

"Good." They stand in silence. As the seconds pass, they search each other's faces. Searching for what exactly, neither of them know.

"It's good to see you." She offers in an almost desperate attempt to hear him speak.

"It's good to see you too. I like this." He lightly brushes his fingers against the ends of her hair. The gesture makes her heart race.

"I needed a change."

"Yeah. Ron and Lavender, huh? It's been a year and it's still strange." She almost forgot how well he knew her brain. "You seem to be taking it well, though."

"I'm trying." She pauses. "Your hair is longer."

"I want to cut it- I'm starting to look too much like my father."

"It looks fine."

"Thank you." He flashes a grin but it leaves his face as quickly as it came. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to make this feel as comfortable as possible but… A year and a half is a long time to go without speaking…"

"I'm sorry… I should have written."

"We both could have."

"I just needed time to process everything. And by the time I had made my mind up about you, Ron surprised me with his news. My emotions became this huge jumble of crazy and I started to feel overwhelmed, so I used my work as a distraction." She takes a deep breath and half a step towards him. "But I'm back now and I-"

"Hermione." He interrupts her. Because if the look in her eyes is any indication, she's about to tell him exactly what he hoped she would. And he couldn't bear hearing it. He looks at her sadly. "I'm engaged."


	2. Chapter 2: First Dance

**Author's note** : I kinda figured out where I'm going with this. It's just a matter of having the time to write. I realize this chapter is a bit long... but I couldn't find a way to shorten it without ruining the flow. I also wanted to end this chapter on a fairly good note, considering what I did with the last one.

 _Falling Into Place_

Chapter Two: First Dance

"Engaged." Hermione says. It's a statement, not a question. As if _stating_ it will somehow make her _believe_ it. Her mouth feels like it's filled with cotton.

"A month before Harry proposed to Ginny." Draco explains. He wonders what his face looks like right now because he imagines it looks like he's in pain. Either that or like he's incredibly constipated.

"Wow. That's… Wow." Her heart is pounding so hard that she can feel it in her ears. "Congratulations." She smiles in an attempt to regain some composure. The smile doesn't reach her eyes and it doesn't go unnoticed by him.

"Alright everyone, let's take our seats. Food will be served shortly and Harry would like to say a few words." Arthur announces loudly. Hermione turns to leave without even excusing herself from their conversation.

"Hermione." Draco reaches out and almost grabs her wrist but decides against it. He'd rather not make a spectacle of their conversation. Besides, he has no idea what he expects her to say. He would, however, like a chance to explain himself.

"We need to sit. Harry's going to make a toast." She dismisses him politely and leaves, knowing full well that she can't exactly escape him- they'll end up sitting at the same table anyway.

He stares after her, feeling nothing but contempt for himself. Once he arrives at their table, the only seat available is the one directly across from her. Of course.

"Good evening," Harry stands and begins. "Before we eat, I'd like to thank each and every one of you here. We've been through hell and back together- supporting each other through it all. At least, for the most part." He looks amusedly at Draco. Draco shrugs and everyone laughs, including Hermione. "Ginny and I are so glad that you'll be a part of this next chapter in our lives. I'd also like to give special thanks to Arthur and Molly for not only organizing this wonderful celebration, but also for being my adoptive parents all these years. You always made me feel like I'm part of the family. By this time next year, I actually will be. So again, many thanks. Here's to all of us, most especially to my beautiful fiancee. Cheers." He raises his glass.

"Cheers." Everyone repeats. The sound of champagne flutes clinking against each other fills the tent. As soon as Harry retakes his seat, food appears on every table.

Throughout the meal, Hermione refuses to make eye contact with Draco. She's honestly just so embarrassed, which is a first for her. She was never one to feel insecure around _Draco Malfoy_ , of all people. How could she be so stupid to think that he would have waited for her? It's a good thing he interrupted her when he did because she would have made a huge arse of herself- propositioning an engaged man… Well, 'propositioning' is a bit of an overstatement. She was going to tell him that she wants to get to know him more outside of work- it would help her feel comfortable with the idea of moving their relationship forward.

People slowly fill the dance floor as light, airy music starts to play. As to be expected, Harry and Ginny are the first ones out there- shortly followed by Arthur and Molly, Bill and Fleur, and dozens of other couples. The moment Ron takes Lavender's hand and leads her into the growing crowd, Hermione begins to formulate an escape route. She and Draco are the only ones left at the table and she's not mentally prepared to speak to him. Spotting Dean across the way, she stands.

"Hermione." Draco says sharply. He's trying to be patient but that doesn't mean he tolerates her blatant avoidance of him.

"Forgive me." She responds and makes eye contact with him for the first time in two hours. "But I need more time to process. I'm sure you're growing tired of hearing that from me, but you know how I get." She says the last part lightly, adding an eye roll for good measure. He picks up on that so he offers her a ghost of a smile and nods. Giving him one last apologetic look, she takes her leave.

Draco is left alone at the table, which is just fine with him because he can't afford being preoccupied with a dance partner- not that he really has anyone else to dance with. As soon as he finds a window of opportunity, he's going to steal a dance- or several- from her so they can talk.

That window of opportunity takes entirely too long to appear.

First, she has her dance with Dean, which she found perfectly nice. Dean has taken lessons before, so he's wonderful on the dance floor. Then, Kingsley gets a hold of her- Draco knows he couldn't possibly interrupt their boss. After Kingsley comes Arthur, who might as well be her second father. And after Arthur, Ron is personally delivered to her by Lavender. Ron is still as awkward a dancer as ever, but she enjoys it fully because he always knows how to make her laugh. Once they've finished their dance, she calls to Lavender, who smiles gratefully as she takes Ron's hand.

The couple leaves her alone, which is absolutely distasteful, in Draco's opinion. Who leaves a woman by herself on the dance floor? His parents may have been bigoted, Pureblood supremacists but _at least_ they taught him proper social etiquette. This just won't do, so he stands and begins to make his way through the crowd. She waits for him, her eyes unyielding while he takes the final few strides toward her. But as timing would have it, Harry appears out of nowhere.

"Oh, hey mate. Sorry, I didn't notice you coming this way." Harry says, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder. "I thought I might have a dance with 'Mione but I'll just come back later." Hermione smiles, feeling at a loss for words. A dance with Harry _would_ ease her mind a little more before talking to Draco...

"It's alright." Draco answers for both of them. "You're the celebrant. I don't mind waiting, as long as Hermione doesn't mind. I trust you won't step on her toes, Chosen One." He chides.

"Oh shuttup. Not all of us were bred to glide through social events with ease." Harry rolls his eyes then says, "Ginny's been waiting for a dance with you, by the way. She's actually sort of miffed that you haven't asked her yet. She's over there." Harry nods his head toward Ginny, who is dancing with Ron. "Shouldn't be too hard interrupting them. Ginny will be glad to have you in place of _that_ clumsy oaf."

"How did _that_ even happen? Those two never dance together." Hermione asks while stifling a laugh.

"Molly insisted she have a dance with _each_ of her brothers…" The three of them snicker amongst themselves.

"Alright, alright. I'll go." Draco says.

"I'll make sure to keep 'Mione occupied until you get back- in repayment for stealing her from you." Harry says as he takes Hermione's hand. Draco nods and gives Hermione one last look before heading over to Ginny.

"May I?" Draco asks Ron as he offers Ginny his hand. Ron looks at him, then at his sister to make sure she approves. She smiles and nods.

"Yeah, sure." Ron responds. "You're a better dancer than me anyway." Ron places Ginny's hand in Draco's and returns to his girlfriend.

"About damn time." Ginny chides as Draco begins to lead her.

"I'm sorry." Draco apologizes, feeling perfectly amused.

"You've looked awfully lonely tonight. Not in the mood to dance with anyone?"

"You and Hermione are the only women I'm close with and neither of you have been free to dance all night."

"Never stopped you before. I recall you dancing with a different woman at every Ministry event."

"Yeah well, things are different now."

"Now, you're engaged."

"Now, I'm engaged."

"And you have feelings for 'Mione." She adds. He abruptly stops in the middle of their dance and stares at her.

"W-what?" Draco Malfoy never stuttered. He was always overflowing with confidence.

"You're engaged but now she's back and you still have feelings for her."

"Why the hell would you think that?"

"Oh come on, Draco. Harry and I aren't idiots- as much as you'd _like_ to think we are. You're one of our best friends, do you really think we wouldn't notice?"

"There's nothing to notice." He hopes his nonchalance will brush off this conversation.

"Is that right?" She challenges.

"Yeah." He shrugs and resumes their dance.

"So.. 'nothing' as in.. The way you made a beeline for her as soon as you laid eyes on each other?"

"I did no such thing."

"We were in the middle of a conversation, Draco. You hadn't even answered my question when you excused yourself." She rolls her eyes. Two of a kind, they are. Both so incredibly stubborn and unwilling to be wrong.

"Forgive me for being excited to see my work partner." Even _he_ knows that was a terrible excuse.

"Mhm, sure. Harry _might_ buy into your denial, but I won't. I've seen the way you look at her."

He pauses for a beat before asking quietly, "How long have you known?"

"I started noticing a few things the month before she left. Harry told me that you walked into that Ministry event together, which we found peculiar because you usually loved making a grand entrance with your date. And I saw that you would pull her chair out for her every Friday night at dinner…"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't think _you_ were even aware of your feelings for her."

"I wasn't. Not yet, at least."

"Exactly. I couldn't be placing ideas in your head. That was something you needed to figure out on your own. It all became very clear to me the last time she was home. Do you remember Christmas Eve?"

He nods because he does. Vividly. Because, after months of silent deliberation, that was the night he finally made up his mind about her.

The five friends were spending Christmas Eve at 12 Grimmauld Place as they usually did.

' _So we're sure she's coming?'_ Ron asked before shoving a biscuit in his mouth when he thought his sister wasn't looking.

' _I saw that, Ron.'_ Ginny called from the behind the tree. She was rearranging presents. Draco and Harry snickered.

' _We're sure.'_ Harry responded.

' _Didn't you get her owl?'_ Draco asked.

' _Of course I did._ ' Ron looked over at Draco, who was levitating a few logs into the fireplace. ' _She went out of her way to owl everyone?'_

The question was mostly directed at Harry, but Draco answered without missing a beat. ' _Yeah. She doesn't like word-of-mouth. Says it's an 'unreliable form of communication' or whatever.'_ He took inexplicable pride in the fact that he answered like it was second nature. At the time, he didn't think anyone noticed. Clearly he was wrong.

' _But she also said she'd visit every weekend. We're lucky if she's even able to visit once a month.'_ Ron said and then ate another biscuit.

' _Oh come on, Ron. You should have figured out that 'every weekend' would be a stretch, even for 'Mione.'_ Ginny answered.

' _She wouldn't miss Christmas.'_ Harry added defensively.

' _No, I would not.'_ Hermione's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

' _You're early!'_ Ginny exclaimed.

' _My flight was shorter than expected.'_ Hermione said as Harry pulled her into an embrace.

' _Flight? I thought you hated brooms.'_ Ron asked, waiting for his turn to be hugged.

' _No, Ron. I took a plane, remember?'_ She hugged him.

' _Oh, right. Why exactly did you take a plane, when you could just apparate or floo?'_ Ron looked at her incredulously.

' _I enjoy plane rides. I still like doing certain things the muggle way.'_ Harry chuckled in response, being the only person who understood what she meant- he enjoyed washing dishes by hand, for example. ' _Hello, Draco.'_ She then said. He remained standing by the fireplace because Hermione and Draco didn't hug. In fact, they never intentionally made physical contact. Eye contact, on the other hand, was fair game. They were very good at that.

' _Welcome back.'_ Draco greeted, looking right at her. She maintained eye contact and even though he wasn't looking at her mouth, he saw a smile reach her eyes. So he smiled back.

It wasn't until Ginny started pulling her toward the couch that he finally allowed himself to give her a subtle once-over. He made a bad habit of doing this every time she entered a room. The woman was incredibly easy on the eyes so, really, what sane man could blame him for his ogling? That night she wore a light grey jumper and form-fitting black pants tucked into a pair of black knee-high heeled boots. Her hair was fashioned into a knot atop her head. She must have come straight from work… He couldn't help the pang of jealousy he felt when he thought of whoever got to work with her all day.

' _So how is everything?'_ Ginny asked excitedly. She patted the empty space next to her so Harry could sit down. Ron settled into the armchair adjacent to the couch. Draco simply moved over a few feet so he could lean against the wall facing them.

' _It's great! I'm really enjoying it. I miss you all, though. Everyday.'_ Hermione replied, her eyes shifting to each of their faces. Draco could have sworn she looked at him for a second longer than everyone else. He was probably just imagining things.

' _So Switzerland, huh? Must be cold right now.'_ Ron asked, leaning forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

' _Very.'_ Hermione went on to explain her last two weeks with the Swiss Minister for Magic, who took her on tours of their Ministry and wizarding school. She even had some time to go muggle sightseeing, which she was really happy about. She promptly dug around her purse to retrieve a few photos and several packages of Swiss chocolate for everyone to try. Ron was overjoyed about the chocolate, of course. As Hermione opened up one of the packages, Draco meandered over to the couch and sat on the armrest next to Harry so he could get a look at the photos. Photos of the school, a photo with the Swiss Minister and a Headmaster-looking old bloke, some muggle photos of the Swiss Alps…

' _Who took this one?'_ Ginny held up a photo.

' _Merlin, I forgot that was in there.'_ Hermione said and grabbed it. ' _Kingsley caught me off guard at our weekly meeting.'_

' _It's nice!'_ Ginny encouraged while taking the photo back so she could show Harry and Ron.

Hermione began to protest but Harry interrupted her, ' _You look really pretty here, 'Mione.'_ Ron smiled and nodded in agreement then passed the photo back to Ginny, who then handed it to Draco.

Upon first glance, he knew he had to make some sort of comment, otherwise they'd wonder why he hadn't said anything. ' _Yeah, this is_ _a nice photo of you.'_ And it was.

Once the four turned their attention away from him to talk about the Alps, he narrowed all of his focus on the photo. The word 'nice' didn't do it any justice, honestly. He watched as she turned the page of a book then as she smiled up at a waitress who placed a cup of coffee in front of her. She brought the cup to her lips and then noticed she was being photographed. Her doe-like eyes widened in surprise and she laughed. The setting sun cast a warm glow all around her and made the brown of her eyes and hair shine like amber. She looked stunning.

He looked at her then, as if seeing her in that moment would help remind him that she actually exists. She was watching her three friends excitedly indulge in a few pieces of chocolate but she soon felt his gaze, so she turned to look at him. And she smiled a smile so soft that it could have _only_ been meant for him. Any reservations he had about pursuing her were immediately thrown out the window.

"I saw that little exchange between you two." Ginny's voice pulls his mind from the past and into the present. "And I saw the way your expression shifted when she smiled at you. You look at her the same way I look at Harry- like life is better just knowing she's around."

"You're too observant." He mumbles. "And too much of a romantic."

"Maybe." She shrugs. "Have you told her yet? About being engaged?"

"Yeah. But not the whole story. I was just about to, but then your damned fiancé stepped in, asking for a dance."

"You could have asked him to go away."

"And risk being interrupted later? No, I didn't want that."

"True… I guess it's a good thing that she doesn't know how you feel about her. Makes things a little less complicated."

"She knows."

"What the bloody hell, since when?"

"Since our last New Year's together. She said she needed time to figure out if she wanted the same thing. And I understood completely. But after she left, she didn't send any owls, and she didn't even come back to visit. So I assumed the worst- that she probably didn't feel the same way."

"But I think she _does_ feel the same way."

"Whether or not that's true, I'm engaged now. All I can do is explain how it happened and why I couldn't wait for her answer."

"Draco, I'm sure if you talked to your parents, they'd understand…"

"I'm not sure they would."

"Don't you think you deserve to be happy?"

"Ginny, stop." He says definitively. "This isn't easy for me. Regardless of how I feel, I can't go and make her- or my- life any more difficult. And we work together, for Merlin's sake. I'm not about to make our professional relationship uncomfortable."

Ginny says nothing and looks over at her best friend dancing with her fiancé. Hermione has spent her whole life putting others' happiness before her own… She deserves to be happy too.

The song ends and the next one starts, but the two friends continue to dance in silence.

"You're a good man, Draco. I hope you know that."

"I like to think that I am. I've busted my arse all these years, trying to be better and to make a good name for myself." He doesn't mean to sound arrogant, but he really has been busting his arse. "Hell, I've gotten so much better that the legendary Golden Trio actually tolerates me.

"You'd make her happy." Ginny's gaze lingers on Hermione for a moment longer then she shifts her eyes to Draco. He looks at her incredulously. "You would." She urges.

"We'll never truly know, I guess." He sways them in a circle so that he can be the one looking in Hermione's direction.

"I guess not." Ginny resigns with a sigh. The song comes to its conclusion so Draco leads Ginny into a series of twirls that make her laugh. "Thanks for the dance."

"Thanks for the talk."

"The years have softened your hard interior, my friend." She pats his arm and smirks.

"Funny, Hermione said the same thing. Though, she blamed it on all three of you. Personally, I'm more convinced that it was all your fiance's doing. Saint Potter." He jokingly spits out that old nickname. "Hanging around him all the time makes you want to sing to birds or some rubbish like that."

"He tends to have that effect on people."

"Who does?" The man in question appears beside them with Hermione in tow.

" _You_ do." Ginny responds simply without revealing anything she and Draco were talking about. She kisses Harry chastely on the lips.

"I hope you didn't step on her toes." Draco looks over at his friend.

"I didn't. She is uninjured and ready to dance with you." Harry chuckles.

"Are you?" Draco asks Hermione seriously.

"I'm ready." She says confidently. His news threw her for a huge loop, but now she's feeling mentally prepared to hear more about it. "Thank you for the dance, Harry. You've come a long way since the Yule Ball. Ginny's doing, I'm assuming."

Ginny smirks proudly then glances at Draco. Time to go. "Alright, sweetheart." She links arms with Harry. "I haven't danced with you in more than an hour." She starts to pull her fiancé away. "See you two later." Harry offers a smile before they hurry off toward Neville and Hannah Abbott.

Another song begins to play, but it's slower than the last few have been. Draco fearlessly closes the space between them and places a hand on Hermione's waist. He takes her right hand in his left and immediately realizes that this is the first time he's ever danced with her. Her hand is petite. Petite but not fragile- he can feel the calluses and small scars left from the war.

By the look on his face, she knows he can feel all the little imperfections on her hand. They spell she uses only hides her scars from sight. She quickly glances at his left forearm, which is covered by his sleeve, and wonders if his dark mark has faded completely. "This is the first time we've danced together, isn't it." She points out, somehow having read his mind.

"Yeah, it is." He looks down at her. Even in her high heels, she's still a little bit shorter than him.

"Even though we've gone to _so many_ Ministry events." She arches an eyebrow.

"We even showed up together one time."

"But you had a date waiting for you." She adds.

"Would you expect otherwise?" He jokes lightly.

"Absolutely not. Draco Malfoy does _not_ show up to Ministry events alone."

"I should have just taken you. We already walked into the damned thing together. It would have made sense."

"You couldn't have. I was Ginny's proxy that night, remember? She got sick and couldn't go so I was Harry's only Ginny-approved date." She laughs.

"Right, I remember that." He chuckles along with her.

"Who did you even go with?"

"I… Don't know. Someone from our department, probably?" Somehow, he remembers the dress she had been wearing, but can't even remember who he was dancing with all night. Victoria? Isabel? Absolutely ridiculous.

"Hm." She leaves it at that, sending them into a bout of silence. She allows herself to focus on the unfamiliar feeling of being led by him- swaying and turning together. Dean is a wonderful dancer, but Draco is so _poised_. He leads her with such grace and such ease. He really was bred to glide through social events like Harry said.

"I…" He begins to say, but has no idea how or where to start. She looks up at him and her anxiety grows when he meets her eyes. "I'm engaged."

"Yes, you already told me that." She says quietly. He scrunches eyebrows because what kind of idiot is he? Repeating himself doesn't explain a damn thing.

"To Astoria Greengrass." He says next, which makes her eyes widen a fraction.

"Greengrass." She repeats. She doesn't remember if Astoria is the older or younger sister, but she _does_ remember that they're both beautiful Pureblood witches.

"Yes, she was two years below us." He explains, taking note of the thoughtful expression on her face. "Her parents are close friends of my parents."

"I wasn't aware that you still kept in touch with any of your old friends."

"I don't. Not really. Well, that's not entirely true. I sometimes meet with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott… I don't know if you remember them."

"I do. A little."

"Yeah. They're alright. Fairly decent blokes." He begins to digress, which he catches immediately. "But that's not important right now." He quickly blurts out. She gives him a small smile.

"You're nervous." She points out.

"Is it that obvious?" He laughs.

"Only because you're hardly ever nervous." She looks right into his eyes then says, "Don't be. It's just me anyway. Insufferable know-it-all, muggle-born Hermione Granger. Your partner that regularly gets in screaming matches with you."

He smirks at her. She's also the person who knows exactly how he takes his coffee. His partner that challenges him every single day. The only woman who has ever truly piqued his interest for more than a few weeks.

"You are all those things and more." He says. She laughs in response- she knows she can be a real pain in the arse. If only she knew that he means something much different. He breathes deeply and warns, "You're about to get quite an earful. This might be a whole night's worth of dancing."

"I'll manage. Besides, I hear you're quite the dancer." They both smile, but those smiles disappear quickly.

He starts off. "My father is very sick. It's no secret that his health deteriorated as soon as he was put into Azkaban. But it got worse after he came home because he stopped taking care of himself. He would drink a lot, skip meals, sleep all day and stay up all night… This went on for years. Late one night last winter, my mother flooed me. She was completely distraught because she had no idea where my father was. I apparated right over to help her look. We eventually found him wandering outside the manor in the cold, without a jacket. He got a bad case of pneumonia as a result. Fortunately, he was able to recover… But then it became this terrible cycle of getting better then getting sick. Over and over again for months. He got sick again in the spring and our healer informed us that his immune system had deteriorated to almost nothing and that he might not recover this time… He's been taking potions to help treat symptoms and they've been helping him so far, but our healer also said that they can only help him for so long. Eventually, his body will get too used to the potions and they won't be as therapeutic. We were told that he has about a year left."

"I'm so sorry…." She interrupts and squeezes his hand. The gesture is borderline intimate so she thinks she might have made a mistake by doing it. But he holds onto her hand a little tighter in response.

He glances at their hands for a moment- why is the first time he's dancing with her under _these_ circumstances? He sighs inwardly then loosens his grip and continues, "As the weeks passed, my mother and I grew increasingly worried. A year really isn't a long time... The three of us had a family meeting to discuss what needed to be done with the time he had left- completing his last will and testament, for example. At the end of _that_ morbid conversation, my parents shared a very long, peculiar look. My mother then turned to me and said that they wished me to be married before he died." He pauses- he's not even sure if he's doing it for her so that she can absorb everything, or for himself because he's not looking forward to explaining the rest of it.

"An arranged marriage." The realization dawns on her quickly. She wasn't sure what his father's illness had to do with being engaged but now it all makes sense. He's unsurprised that she came to the conclusion on her own.

"Essentially."

"What do you mean, 'essentially'? Is it or is it not?"

"Well, Astoria and I were not originally meant for each other. It had been decided when I was very young that Daphne, her older sister, and me would wed… But she and Gregory Goyle developed feelings for one another during school. The fall of Voldemort made it easier for Purebloods to stray away from tradition, so they stayed together and my parents no longer had the intention of arranging my marriage. They did, however, have a clear idea of who they wanted me to end up with."

"That would be Astoria, I'm guessing."

"No, actually. They wanted me to end up with a woman of my own choosing." Who would have thought Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy actually had hearts? Though they had a strange way of showing it, they cared about their son. "My parents had an arranged marriage and they were lucky enough to have fallen in love with each other. My mother admitted that she always wanted the same for me- loving my spouse- but that was a very tall order to fill, considering I had no prospects. Or well…" His voice trails off.

"I…" She begins, but nothing she could possibly say would help. So she shuts up.

"Anyway, his illness and her desperation gave them an unfair advantage. I felt like a teenager again- backed into a corner by my father, filled with fear of disappointing both my parents… After taking some time to think, I decided to give them what they wanted and Astoria Greengrass came to mind. I already knew my parents approved of her and, as far as I could tell, she was a nice person- a fair bit nicer than her sister. All that mattered was that my parents liked her and that I didn't hate her. She was my only sane option. So I owled her, asking to meet. I told her the truth about my situation, which I knew was very risky… But she agreed. She told me her parents had been badgering her for months, telling her to find a husband within the next year, otherwise they would cut her off. I didn't feel comfortable treating our engagement like a business transaction, so I took her out on several dates to get us comfortable around each other. I made a formal proposal in May." Her eyes shift to every feature of his face.

"It sounds like an _extremely_ complicated situation…" She finally says.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Are you sure that you're making the right decision…?" She doesn't mean to get all lecture-y, but as complicated as the situation is, he should really think about what it means for him.

"I feel like I need to do this for my father. If not for him, then for my mother."

"You can't be doing this just for them."

"Why can't I be selfless and do this for my family?" He asks defensively. His temper is rising. Even so, he doesn't want to snap because it's not her fault- he's just projecting his frustration.

"You don't need me to tell you that marriage is a huge commitment."

"I'm well aware of that." He tries to say as calmly as possible. She knows that she's pushing boundaries by doing this, but…

"Do you _really_ believe that this is the right thing to do?"

"Yes." He says through gritted teeth. Half because he's growing impatient with the questions and half because he _knows_ that he's lying. Because he _doesn't_ feel like he's doing the right thing. Not the right thing for him, at least.

"Alright…" She concedes. More easily than either of them are used to. But she knows better than to argue this time. This is his personal life they're talking about, not work.

"I wanted you to know the whole story, so you'd understand that I couldn't wait around for your answer." He knows he worded that last part wrong…

But it's too late to take it back because she responds quickly, "Of course. I understand completely." She offers another forced smile and they fall into a mildly uncomfortable silence- only partially focused on dancing because they're lost in their own thoughts.

He wishes that he didn't care so much about what his parents wanted, which is terrible, given the circumstances.

She's not sure what to make of all this. The one thing she _is_ sure of, though, is that telling him how she feels would be selfish. His situation is already complicated enough. She has to lock her feelings away, which is unpleasant, but there's nothing else she can do…

"I know that was a lot to hear all at once…" He breaks the silence after several minutes.

She laughs nervously. "I definitely had no idea that I'd be returning to a life much different from the one I left… But everyone is right where they need to be." Everyone but her, it seems.

The music gradually transitions into something a little more upbeat, so more people start to fill the dance floor.

"Aunt Hermione?" Teddy Lupin appears next to Hermione and Draco, who are still swaying slowly back and forth despite the change in tempo.

"Hi Teddy." Hermione looks down and smiles at the child.

"Grandmum said I could ask you to dance. I wanted to earlier but she said not to interrupt you and Mister Draco…"

"I'd be honored, Teddy. But to be polite, why don't you ask Mister Draco permission first?" The child widens his eyes a bit. Draco isn't an unfamiliar face but the two hardly see-and therefore, hardly interact with- each other. Teddy sill seems to be intimidated by him. "Go on, Teddy. He won't bite." She encourages.

Draco releases his hold on Hermione- albeit a little unwillingly- and squats down to the child's eye level. "Hello, Theodore." Draco greets him kindly.

"Hello, Mister Draco."

"Teddy, did you know that Mister Draco is your mummy's cousin?" Hermione offers. Draco peers up at her questioningly so she shrugs. Neither of them are sure if Teddy will understand, but it's worth a shot.

"Really?!" Teddy looks excitedly at both of them.

"Yeah, your Grandmother Andromeda is my aunt. You and I are relatives." Draco explains.

"Woah. I don't think I've ever had a relative before." Teddy's eyes are now wide with wonder. Hermione and Draco both stifle a laugh.

"Well, now you have me." Draco states simply, pressing his palms into his knees as he stands back up.

"Can I call you Uncle Draco, then?"

"Uh." Draco is a bit taken aback by the thought of it. "Sure you can, Theodore."

"But I'll only call you Uncle Draco if you call me Teddy." Teddy says brazenly, which makes Draco smirk. This kid's got spunk. "Only Grandmum calls me Theodore. And she only says it when she's _really_ upset with me."

"You've got yourself a deal, Teddy." Draco nods and falls back in line with Hermione.

"I had no idea you were good with kids." Hermione says quietly to Draco without looking at him.

"Neither did I." He confesses just as quietly. The sound of her soft laughter satisfies his ears.

"So, Teddy, what are you going to say to Uncle Draco?" Hermione asks.

"Uncle Draco, is it okay if I dance with Aunt Hermione?" Teddy bravely makes eye contact with his uncle.

"Yes, you may." Draco gently retakes a hold of Hermione's hand, which makes her heart jump up into her throat. Such a casual gesture, too casual for what either of them are used to. He offers her hand to his nephew, who takes it happily.

"Thanks, Uncle Draco! You can dance with Aunt Hermione again later, okay? Maybe during one of those slow, boring songs because I don't like those."

"Alright." Draco chuckles. "As long as she doesn't mind."

"Thank you for the dance." Hermione says, reestablishing eye contact before Teddy can pull her away. "You really are a terrific dancer and I almost hate you for it."

"Almost." He repeats.

"We can add it to the very short list of things you can do better than me." She jokes.

"Consider it listed." He jokes back. Their eyes linger on each other for another moment, both almost forgetting about their damn near morbid conversation. "Take care of your Aunt Hermione, alright Teddy?"

"Got it!" Teddy salutes him then tugs on Hermione's hand. She's reluctant to leave, feeling as if she's leaving their conversation unfinished.

"I'll… See you in a little while, then." Hermione feels Teddy tug on her hand once more.

"Yeah. I'll be around." Draco offers a small smile before Teddy pulls her away.

Running a hand over his face, he groans to himself then begins making his way back to their empty table. That conversation took so much out of him. As expected, she was incredibly understanding- almost infuriatingly so… And it's not that he doesn't appreciate it, but a very small, very selfish part of him wishes he didn't interrupt her…

"Malfoy, you slimy git." George suddenly stops him in his tracks by clapping a hand on his shoulder. He hadn't been paying any attention to his surroundings, so the contact makes him jump in surprise. "50 galleons even."

"She might have grown up with you, Weasley, but she's my _partner_. I know what makes her tick." Draco smirks triumphantly at George and takes the small velvet pouch from him. He notices Ginny standing behind her brother, a look of mild concern on her face.

"Er, Gin, where's your fiancé?" Draco tries to ask as casually as possible.

"He's in the kitchen- said he needed to escape the crowd for a bit." Ginny responds just as casually, flashing a look of understanding

"Right." Draco nods once. "Anyway, pleasure doing business with you, George." He jingles the contents of the pouch in George's face.

"I'll win a bet one of these days, Malfoy. You'll see." George challenges.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, mate." Draco shakes his head amusedly then excuses himself to head toward the back door of the Burrow. He finds Harry leaning back against the kitchen counter, taking a rather large swig from a beer bottle. "Shouldn't you be outside with your guests?"

"There are so many people out there that they'll hardly notice if I'm gone." Harry laughs.

"You must be going barmy if you think people won't notice that the Boy Who Lived is missing." Draco grabs a beer from the fridge and pops the cap off.

"Yeah, well. I think they can survive without me for a few minutes. What are _you_ doing in here? Shouldn't you be dancing with a certain best friend of mine?"

"Your godson requested a dance with her."

"I see. I'm surprised you conceded, you two were dancing for an awfully long time." Harry arches an eyebrow.

"We had a lot to catch up on." Draco responds lamely a takes a large swig of his beer.

"Hm." Is all that Harry says. If Draco wants to talk about it, he will. There's no point in trying to egg him on or pry it out of him.

"Ginny told me you know. About my feelings for your best friend." Draco mutters from behind the lip of his beer bottle. Harry figured he would cave and explain why they were dancing for so long, but he wasn't expecting _this_.

"Er…" Harry lengthens the syllable as he places his beer on the counter behind him. This conversation is too important to waste time on drinking alcohol. He and Ginny noticed Draco's interest in Hermione some time ago- it was subtle, but not subtle enough. They enjoyed the idea of their two friends getting together, but at the time, Draco didn't _seem_ like he was planning to do anything. "Yeah… What about it?"

Almost in one breath, Draco answers, "To give you the abridged version: a year and a half ago, I kissed Hermione and told her how I felt. She told me she needed time to think things over, so I gladly gave her the space… But today is the first time we've spoken since then. I'm almost certain she was going to tell me that she feels the same way, but before she could even finish her sentence, I interrupted and dropped two bombs on her- that by father is sick and that I'm engaged. Now I have no clue what to do with myself because I still have feelings for her but I'm fucking _engaged_." He downs the rest of his beer then uses his wand to quickly retrieve another one. He pops the cap off and chugs almost half of it.

"Bloody hell, Draco…" Harry considers Draco to be one of his closest friends, maybe even closer than Ron, especially as of late… But in the time they've been friends, Draco has confided in him only once before this- when he told him about his engagement and the reason behind it.

"Bloody hell, indeed."

"I honestly don't even know what to say."

"I don't think there's much you _can_ say. I fucked up by not waiting."

"You _could_ have waited. You're only engaged because it's what your parents want, mate." Harry states matter-of-factly.

"I know, and I willingly made that decision for them. But did she have to look so fucking _good_ tonight? That conversation could have been a hell of a lot easier if she didn't look like _that_." Draco frustratedly points in the general direction of the back door. The woman _had_ to show up with a spectacular new haircut that makes her even more sophisticated than she already is, wearing a perfectly form-fitting burgundy dress that hugs her curves and stops just below the knee… He takes another large swig of beer.

"Alright, calm down. We both know you're not angry with her, you're angry with yourself." With a flick of his wand, Harry takes Draco's beer bottle from him. "Enough of that. You're above drinking away your feelings."

"I know. But I fucked up, Harry. Can you believe that _that_ was the first time we've danced with each other? We've literally attended hundreds of Ministry events, and not once did I think, 'hey, maybe I should have a dance with the woman I see _every single day_ '. The first time I remembered to be gentlemanly enough to dance with her and I soiled it with my pathetic personal problems." He rubs his forehead in frustration. "Your fiancee thinks I should talk to my parents- call off my engagement."

"Well, would you?"

"I don't know if I could bring myself to do it… I just feel so _bad_ , you know? I feel bad for my parents. And I feel bad for Astoria. This engagement is helping her just as much as it's helping me."

"We've talked about this, mate. You know I don't think those are valid reasons to marry someone."

"I _know_. But I feel like I need to do this, alright?"

"Alright, I get it. We're not going to have this argument again. So I'll say the same thing I did last time- you do whatever you need to do."

"What am I to do about Hermione, then?"

"Like I said- whatever you need to do." Harry dumps the remainder of their beer into the sink then tosses the bottles into the recycling bin.

"'That's terrible advice." Draco groans. "You're the worst friend I've ever had." He summons the pitcher of water from the refrigerator and fills two glasses.

"I'm the _only_ friend you've ever had." Harry corrects, taking a glass from Draco's outstretched arm.

"Shove off." They clink their glasses together then take a long, satisfying drink.

"About Hermione… You should try to go on about your life like nothing is different. She notices and feels _everything_. If you give even the slightest hint that you're uncomfortable around her, she will withdraw from you. And I don't think you want that…"

"No, I don't… But, question: Is she _always_ so understanding? She was ready to go full-blown lecture mode, but then she didn't do it… It was strange because she never gives up that easily when she disagrees with something I've done." Draco laughs dryly.

"'Mione has always been the voice of reason for all of us. You know just as well as I do that she isn't afraid of speaking her mind… But if she thinks it's in your best interest, she will support your decision through hell and high water. "

"So what you're saying is that she thinks this engagement is in my best interest?"

"No, not necessarily. I have a feeling she thinks that _not_ arguing with you is in your best interest."

"I... don't quite understand that…"

"Neither do I." Harry barks out a laugh. "She's my best friend and I still have yet to understand all her complexities. But she always has a good reason for everything she does."

"I believe that." Draco sighs loudly. "But there's still one small problem, I still-"

Harry cuts him off, "I know you ' _still'_ , but if you really intend to stay engaged to Astoria, you need to lock all those feelings away."

"This is the first time I've ever felt _anything_ for someone… How am I supposed to know how to lock them away?" Draco asks incredulously.

"By reminding yourself that having feelings for another woman isn't fair to your fiancee _or_ yourself." Harry states definitively.

"Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny is looking for you!" Victoire exclaims happily, effectively ending their conversation, as she runs into the kitchen. Upon her arrival, she notices Draco standing next to her Uncle Harry and her face flushes a light shade of pink.

"Is she now?" Harry questions teasingly. "Did she ask for Draco too?"

"Um… I-I don't remember..." Victoire stammers.

"Vickie, did you find them?!" Teddy suddenly runs into the kitchen, almost barreling down Victoire. "Oh you found them! Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco, Aunt Ginny is looking for you. She said you've been taking too long!" Teddy looks over at Victoire, whose eyes are nervously darting back and forth between the floor and Draco. "Vickie, are you okay? You're looking at Uncle Draco funny."

"I am not!" Victoire whines defensively.

"Are too!" Teddy argues at first, but then immediately switched gears. "Oh! Uncle Harry, did you know that Uncle Draco and I are relatives?! Aunt Hermione said he's my mummy's cousin."

"That's really cool, buddy!" Harry humors his godson.

"I know, right? Uncle Draco is nice, he let me dance with Aunt Hermione after him." Teddy grins up at Draco, who smirks down at the child and gives him a pat on the head. Now Victoire's eyes dart curiously between Teddy and Draco. "Stop looking at me funny, Vickie."

"I'm not!" She whines again and sticks her tongue out at him.

"You are! Isn't she?" He looks at Harry and Draco for confirmation.

Instead, Harry instructs, "Alright you two, go on. Cake will be served soon so you better get back to your seats. We'll be right out." At the mentioning of cake, the children's faces light up with excitement.

"Okay!" They say in unison and chase each other out the back door. Harry and Draco chuckle and slowly follow them out.

"Teddy went from plain scared to idolizing you in one day." Harry elbows Draco.

"He's a fiery one. And funny, as far as children go."

"He takes after his mother." Harry says respectfully. Draco never knew Nymphadora, so he's glad he has the chance to get to know her son.

"But, really, why was Bill's daughter looking at me like that? Is she scared of me too?"

"Quite the opposite actually." Harry stifles a laugh. "According to her father, she has a bit of a crush on you."

"You better be joking." Draco knits his eyebrows together.

"I'm not. She asks about you a lot. Fleur said she referred to you as the 'man with the pretty eyes and pretty hair'."

"Seriously? 'Pretty'? Of all the words in the world to use, she went with 'pretty'."

""In her defense, she an eight year old girl. Her vocabulary isn't all that extensive. Harry smirks at his friend. "You're the prettiest in all the land."

"I hate you." Draco rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, well... What else is knew." Harry chides, earning a hearty laugh from Draco, which in turn, makes him laugh too.

"Everything okay?" Ginny asks as soon as they reach her.

"I think so." Draco says, shrugging. "As okay as things _can_ be, at least."


	3. Chapter 3: Sweet Tooth

**Author's note:** This chapter is long-ish, but lighter in content. I felt a nice, fun break was needed after all the new info thrown around in the last chapter. And as a heads up, the spell _colloportus_ closes doors.

 _Falling into Place_

Chapter 3: Sweet Tooth

Draco stares at himself in his bathroom mirror, straightens his tie, and runs a hand through his newly trimmed hair. "Everything's okay." He says to himself. It's been his mantra all weekend since Harry's engagement party. Now it's Monday. Meaning, it's Hermione's first day back at the Ministry. Her first day back in her office. "Everything-is-okay." Repetition calms the nerves.

Before Hermione went away, she and Draco would- unintentionally- floo into the Ministry at the same time every morning, so they'd always end up walking into their department together. He considered leaving earlier today so that he wouldn't run into her, but eventually convinced himself not to. Harry had advised him to 'go on about life like nothing is different'. And as irritating as it is, he's right. Draco can't afford to jeopardize their partnership with unresolved… _feelings_.

As he gets into the lift and presses the button for his department, his aforementioned friend squeezes in through the closing doors.

"Oh, hey." Draco greets him.

"Morning." Harry responds with a cheeky grin.

"You're here early…" Draco arches an eyebrow. Harry is a lot of things, 'morning person' is not one of them.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm actually running late, I was supposed to meet 'Mione ten minutes ago…" He says nonchalantly as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You don't seem all that concerned with being late." Draco smirks.

"Merlin, no. Those extra ten minutes of sleep were well-worth the scolding I'm about to endure." Harry laughs.

"Hang on, so she's already here?" Draco backtracks, feeling paranoid that she came in especially early with the intention of avoiding him.

"Yeah, said she wanted to come in early and get resettled into her office- first day back and all." Harry explains.

"Right." Draco feels relieved. He also feels worried for his sanity because paranoia does _not_ suit him.

"You gonna be alright?" Harry eyes him curiously. Truthfully, he's not that worried about his friend. He knows that Draco would never do anything to jeopardize his partnership with Hermione- it's too important to him.

"Everything's okay." Draco states as confidently as he can. He wonders if she told Harry about their conversation and if she's out of sorts just as much as he is… He wouldn't dare ask him, though.

"Right…" Harry says as the lift doors open to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The brand new receptionist, Catherine, greets them.

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy." Her eyes widen at the sight of Harry. "And good morning, Mr. Potter." She blushes furiously.

"Good morning." Harry greets kindly with a smile.

"Good morning." Draco says, trying to suppress an eye roll. He and Harry walk past the general work area, which is mostly empty save for two or three people. Draco and Hermione always report an hour earlier before the normal work day starts. "Ten years have passed and people _still_ turn to mush when you enter a room." Draco grouses, in reference to Catherine.

"Oh shuttup." Harry rolls his eyes. He loves working at the ministry, but he can't help but feel embarrassed about the seemingly never-ending special treatment. "I wish people would just treat me normally, not like I'm some sort of celebrity…"

"But you _are_ 'some sort of celebrity'. You're the Boy Who Lived Twice. The Boy Who Lived Squared." Draco looks at his friend amusedly, but Harry just barely cracks a smile. "Oh come on, that was kind of funny."

"Hardly." Harry laughs. "The only reason it's _any_ sort of funny is because it's so ridiculous."

"I think he's losing his touch." Hermione appears in her open doorway, leans against the doorframe, and flashes a smirk. "Have I really been gone _that_ long, that your humor has dwindled down to Ronald Weasley's level?" Harry snickers at the jab.

"I could easily shift the blame on you, you know. You're the one who left me stuck with them." Draco counters lightly.

"I'll own up to that." She laughs then wandlessly and wordlessly levitates a tray of coffee cups into her waiting hand.

"How the bloody hell did you do that?!" Harry almost yells, astounded by his best friend's abilities. Draco is also sent into a bit of a stupor because he still hasn't been able to successfully control the levitation of an object without the use of a wand. And he's tried _many_ times...

"Do what?" She asks, clearly confused.

"Wandless magic… You once said that you wanted to train yourself to be able to do a few spells, but that was ages ago…" Harry stares at her in awe.

"Oh." Her eyes widen and her cheeks flush pink. "While I was away, I used my free time to practice… It took me a year to master this one…" She explains, embarrassedly.

"'Mione will you ever stop being brilliant? You make the rest of us look bad." Harry praises.

"Harry, you conjured a patronus strong enough to send away over a dozen dementors at the age of thirteen…" She deadpans. Harry scratches the back of his head, feeling embarrassed for being put on the spot. She laughs and continues, "It just takes a lot of practice. I failed terribly over and over again before I even got close to getting it right." Even though _wingardium leviosa_ is a spell they learned first year, it takes a great amount of effort and control to do it wandlessly. She'd be able to get the object up in the air without any problems, but guiding it through the air to where she needed it… Completely different story.

"We all know it takes a really powerful witch or wizard be able to pull off wandless magic." Draco finally speaks up, feeling both jealous and impressed.

"I'm sure if you both practiced, you'd be able to do it." Her voice trails off as she hands each of the men a cup. "Oh hello, Minister." Hermione says as she spots Kingsley walking down the hallway.

"Good morning, all." Kingsley greets, approaching them.

"Good morning, Minister." Draco and Harry say simultaneously.

"I'm glad you're here, Harry, I wanted to speak with you about something. But I have to say, you're here uncharacteristically early." Kingsley comments.

"That's what I said." Draco says, chuckling.

"I'm not _that_ bad, alright? I _can_ wake up early." Harry defends himself.

"With a little bit of help, I'm sure." Draco looks at him pointedly. "How many times did Ginny have to shake you awake this morning?"

"I'm betting on three." Hermione chides, linking her arm with Harry's.

"Really? The number five kept popping up in my head," says Draco.

"I was thinking two." Kingsley offers.

"Well at least _someone_ has some faith in me." Harry says in reference to Kingsley. "But Hermione knows me best… Three times." He slumps his shoulders in defeat and Hermione responds by gripping his arm tighter.

"We kid because we love, Harry." She says and the four of them have a laugh. "I'm not overlooking the fact that you were late, though. Don't think I've forgotten."

"Damn." Harry clicks his tongue. "I tried my best?" He looks at her sheepishly.

"You always do." She grins. "Next time I ask you to meet me early, I'm adding the ten minutes you owe me." Harry goes to object, but she cuts him off, "Alright, get out of here, Minister wants to discuss something with you and Draco and I have work to do." She unlinks their arms and gives him a small push.

"We do?" Draco asks.

"You need to catch me up on what you've been working on." She says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course I do." He jokingly gives a little eye roll. "Gentlemen, if you'd excuse us." He says to Kingsley and Harry.

"Have a good day, you two." Kingsley says.

"I'll see you later." Harry gives Hermione a kiss on the cheek and shoots Draco a knowing look from over her shoulder.

"Bye." Hermione says as Kingsley and Harry head down the hallway toward Auror headquarters. She immediately feels the shift in atmosphere. It's easy to act normal around Draco when other people are around, but now that they're alone, she's become hyper-aware of herself- the way she's standing, her outfit, the depth of her breathing… Her eyes insist on looking everywhere _but_ him. It's ridiculous because she can't waste time feeling nervous. Work needs to be done, for Merlin's sake. She summons her Gryffindor courage then finally looks up at him. His eyes meet hers as they have hundreds of times before, but this time it feels… Different. Like there are so many words hiding behind both their eyes that are being left unsaid. They never really got to finish their conversation at the party…She left shortly after dessert was served because she had to visit her parents. "Catch me up." She casually instructs and walks past him to enter the office directly across from hers.

He smiles at the back of her head because, year and a half gone or not, she's still as controlling as ever- entering his office uninvited. "You actually have impeccable timing, I haven't started working on this yet." He places his cup on his desk and retrieves a file from his drawer. As he does this, she sinks into the chair in front of his desk and casts a charm on his coffee so it'll stay warm. "Thanks." He says without looking up. "Something old that Kingsley wants to be made new- the Trace." He hands her the file.

"Ah, it's about time. It's needed some serious tweaking." She quickly reads over the cover page.

"I agree. This is long overdue." He leans back in his chair and runs a hand through his hair. She takes note of its shortened length.

"You cut your hair." She comments and decides that he looks especially handsome today in his navy blue muggle suit.

"I did. You can't be the _only_ fit one at work." He deadpans, much to her chagrin.

"Oh shuttup." She rolls her eyes and he smirks.

He then uses his wand to levitate the file from her lap to his desk. "How the hell did you manage to train yourself to do this wandlessly…" He mutters mostly to himself. Without a wand as a conduit, he can't control his power in a such a precise manner.

"I promise you, you can do it if you practice."

"I've tried…" He admits.

"Have you really? Here I was thinking that I was crazy for wanting to learn…" She tilts her head. "But you _are_ just as much an overachiever as I am… What can you do?"

"Why do you think I'd be able to do something without a wand?" He asks.

"Because I know you. And there's a reason why you and I were at the top of our class." She responds with an arched brow, challenging him to prove her wrong. He smirks.

" _Scourgify_ , _alohamora_ , and _colloportus_." He finally answers as he organizes the papers into different piles.

"I was able to get _alohamora_ and _colloportus_ down pact… But _scourgify_? That's genius… I should really learn how to do that one… I managed to learn _muffliato_ as well, since I used it so much all those months hunting horcruxes." She quickly transfigures a book into a small side table to create more room so they can further spread out the papers.

"Alright. so shall we work on the limitations first?"

"Yeah. They definitely need the most attention." She eyes the largest pile. "It's quite daunting, is it not?" She laughs.

"You'd think that with all this paperwork, it wouldn't need any tweaking… But there are still so many gaps within this bill."

"I know…" With a flick of her wand, the pile divides itself in half. "Meet back in two hours to discuss notes?"

"Sounds good." He watches as she exits his office, the pile of papers steadily levitating behind her. He returns the small table she transfigured to its original form and notices she left her coffee on edge of his desk. "Typical." He mutters to the coffee cup and sighs loudly. Cup in hand, he walks across the hall to her open door. She's already hard at work, so he leans his shoulder against the doorframe and observes her for a moment. Her hair is a little too short to fashion into that signature top knot, so she's opted to clip half of it up and away from her face. Either way, seeing her at her desk like this- it's like she never even left. "Your coffee." He says, announcing his presence. She startles at the sound of his voice.

"Merlin, Draco, don't scare me like that." She claps a hand over her heart then looks to the cup in his hand. "I'm sorry, I feel like I always forget my coffee in your office."

"You _do_ always forget your coffee in my office." He approaches her desk and just before setting the cup down, he casts a warming charm on it.

"Thanks." She smiles up at him. He lingers for a bit in front of her. "Did you need something?"

"I just feel like we didn't get a chance to finish our conversation at the party, what with you leaving early and all that." He slips his hands into his trouser pockets. The sheepish look is rather cute on him and she hates that.

"I get that feeling too but, truthfully, I'm not sure what else there is to say." There's actually plenty for either of them to say, but none of it would be appropriate, given the circumstances. "I didn't expect you to wait for me." She knows that was a half lie. "It's your life, Draco."

"Right…" He runs a hand through his hair again. She knows this is a nervous habit of his, which inadvertently makes _her_ nervous. "Anyway, I just want to make sure we've cleared the air. Because well, this partnership is important to me… so I don't want things to be… weird."

"The air is as clear as it needs to be. We're okay." She offers the most genuine smile that she can because they _are_ okay. It might not feel like it yet, but it will. It needs to… "Now get to work. Just because I'm back and you no longer have to do everything yourself, doesn't make it okay for you to fall behind." She warns.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He waves her off. "See you in two hours."

* * *

"Seriously? You don't think they should be allowed to use their magic in Hogsmeade?" He asks incredulously.

"No, I don't think they should be allowed." She takes a bite of her blueberry muffin.

"But it's a Hogwarts trip. They're still technically in school." He lightly tosses a green apple between his hands. They've been comparing notes for several hours- trying to iron out all the kinks of the Trace's limitations and so absorbed in discussion that they almost forgot to eat.

"But they aren't properly chaperoned."

"Alright, but they're third years. They have a decent handle on their abilities. And clearly, Hogwarts deems them old enough to go galavanting around the village without adult supervision, so why shouldn't they be allowed to use their magic?"

"I don't think it's a good idea." She shakes her head and opens her container of fruit salad.

"You can't honestly tell me that you didn't enjoy being able to use unsupervised magic in Hogsmeade." He challenges. She offers some fruit to him but he declines and takes a bite of his apple.

"I suppose I did." She shrugs.

"So can you finally agree with me?" He raises his eyebrows and looks at her expectantly as he takes another bite.

" _Fine._ " She concedes with a huff. "The Trace won't follow them into Hogsmeade." She pauses and purses her lips. "As long as it's during the school year."

"Fair." He makes a note of it while she packs her plastic container away.

"Other people would wonder what both of you are still doing here, but I'm not the slightest bit surprised." Kingsley walks into Draco's office. "I'm ecstatic to see my two star employees settling back into their routine."

" _Potter_ isn't your star employee?" Draco asks with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, he's my star _Auror_. It's different." Kingsley barks out a laugh.

"You should know by now- there's a different set of rules that apply to Harry Potter. One of the perks of saving the wizarding world." Hermione jokingly reminds.

"Damned Potter and his eternal glory…" Draco mumbles which earns a giggle from Hermione. "Anyway, Minister, what can we do for you?"

"Just checking in." He looks amusedly at the mess of papers scattered all around Draco's desk.

"We're working on the Trace. Almost done with its limitations." Hermione explains.

"About time, am I right?" Hermione and Draco nod. "Everything looks to be going well. Save for the fact that you two are _just_ eating _now_. It's half past four."

"We were so engrossed in talking that we almost forgot." Hermione says. She and Draco didn't even set time aside to eat a proper lunch, they're just snacking on whatever they happened to bring in for breakfast.

"Get your arses out of here. Harry has been waiting for you since four. I warned him that you'd probably be a while, but he insisted."

"Did he say why he needed to see us?" Hermione asks worriedly. She doesn't want Harry to wait any longer but they're so close to completing these limitations… Kingsley shakes his head.

"I know why he's waiting." Draco offers. "Over the weekend, he mentioned wanting to have dinner together since it's your first day back at work. But he didn't say anything else so I thought he might've changed his mind."

"I suppose we should go, then." Hermione begins restacking the papers she had in her lap. "We can finish this tomorrow." Draco nods and puts his notepad into a drawer.

"Enjoy." Kingsley smiles then uses wandless magic to put everything back in its proper place, leaving Draco's workspace immaculate. "See you tomorrow." He bids, taking his leave. Draco stands to gather up his briefcase and suit jacket.

"Let me just grab my things." Hermione announces. She straightens out her pencil skirt then looks over at him with a curious expression.

"What?" He asks cautiously.

"Mustard." She flicks her wand and he feels as if something is wiping the corner of his mouth.

"Oh. Thanks." He wipes at his mouth anyway.

Without thinking she says, "See? I can help clean food off your face _without_ kissing you." He stares at her with wide eyes- clearly taken aback by her bold comment. As she quickly turns to leave, she feels an unbearable heat rush to her face. Perhaps that was too flirtatious… She didn't mean for it to be… What on Earth compelled her to say something like that?!

"I think I'd prefer the lips." He mumbles to her retreating figure then runs a hand over his face and rolls his shoulders back. He's glad things aren't awkward between them but no matter what he does, he can't seem to stop thinking about kissing her… Something's made her look particularly snoggable since she's returned.

Of course, there _is_ a certain fascination in wanting things you can't have…

* * *

" _Finally_." Harry calls to his friends as soon as he sees them approaching.

"You didn't tell us you'd be waiting." Hermione gives Harry a pointed look.

"I didn't want to rush you." He explains. "Come on, then. Ginny's already waiting." Hermione and Draco follow him out of the Ministry to an empty alley. Harry takes Hermione's hand and apparates them to the sidewalk in front of 12 Grimmauld Place. Draco appears immediately after them.

When they enter the living room, they're greeted by a large banner- no doubt crafted by Ginny- that says, 'Welcome Home!', hanging over the fireplace.

"Goodness." Hermione gasps. Just then, Ginny enters the room, clad in an apron and oven mitts.

"Hi, sweetheart." Ginny greets her fiancé.

"Gin, we discussed this. Not while Harry's around." Draco hisses.

"Shut it." Ginny rips off an oven mitt and chucks it at Draco's head. And it would have hit him if he wasn't so quick to dodge.

"You've got quite an arm. Have you thought about playing quidditch professionally?" Draco bends to pick up the mitt.

"Malfoy, I _will_ hex you." She chucks the other oven mitt _to_ him, as opposed to throwing it _at_ him. He catches it. "Make yourself useful and take the lasagna out of the oven. Cover it with foil and then put the cake in."

"Oh my, the use of my surname means business." Draco taunts but does as he's told. He knows better than to test Ginny. Tucking the oven mitts under his arm, he heads for the kitchen and quickly gives Ginny's shoulder a squeeze as he passes her.

"Thank you." Ginny calls after him in a sing-song voice. "How was your first day back in the office?" She asks, redirecting her attention at Hermione.

"It was fine! Same as usual…" Hermione answers, peeking around Ginny to see the extensive dinner spread on the dining room table. "Ginny, you didn't have to do any of this."

"Of course I didn't. But _someone_ insisted." She darts her eyes in the direction of her fiancé.

"Even though she showed up _completely unannounced_ ," he gives a pointed look at his best friend, who just laughs in response to his expression, "she still deserves a proper 'welcome home' celebration." Harry justifies from his seat on the couch.

"He missed you more than he ever let on." Ginny whispers- rather loudly- to Hermione. "Couldn't compromise his masculinity by admitting to it."

"I missed you too, Harry." She sits next to him and rests her head on his shoulder.

"We all missed you." Harry adds with a light kiss on the top of her head. He then puckers his lips at his fiancé, who meets his waiting lips with hers. "How was your day, Gin?"

"Eventful, actually. I was offered the position as captain of the Harpies." She dusts her apron free of flour.

"That's wonderful, Gin!" Hermione jumps up from her seat to congratulate her friend with a hug.

"Took them long enough." Harry yawns and rubs his eyes. "When do you start?"

"Well… I deferred the offer for a year." She shrugs. Harry, who seemed very tired just a second ago, is now at full attention.

"Why would you do that?" He asks, concern lacing his voice. "You been waiting for so long."

"I wanted to put as much focus as I could into the wedding… Being captain would take up more of my free time and I can't afford that."

"Gin, no…" He hates the idea of her giving up her dreams for him. She loves quidditch and she's brilliant at it. And he's met her teammates- no one deserves to be captain more than her.

"It's alright, sweetheart." She perches herself on the arm of the couch and ruffles a hand through Harry's hair. "I was told that it _will_ be waiting for me when I'm ready. Our current captain refuses to step down until I'm ready to take it."

"If it's really what you want…" He reaches for her hand.

"It is." She smiles. "Don't you worry. I'm just really excited to marry you." She gives him another quick kiss. Hermione smiles at the couple.

"Could literally vomit all over everything you own." Draco reappears in the living room, oven mitts still on his hands.

"Did you do what I told you?" Ginny snaps at him.

"Easy, Red. The lasagna needed another five minutes before I could put the cake in."

"Good." Ginny huffs and stands.

"You look so domestic." Harry smirks at his friend.

"At least I can manage to handle Ginny's food without dropping it." Draco spits.

"That was _one time_." Harry groans.

"Yeah, that 'one time' ruined the entire meal. Why did you feel the need to levitate _everything_ _at once_?" Draco arches an eyebrow.

"Idunno, I thought I could manage! And I probably could have, if Ron hadn't distracted me."

"Ron didn't do anything to distract him," Ginny begins to explain to Hermione, "he simply walked into the room without warning and scared Harry so much that he lost focus of the spell and dropped _everything_." Hermione giggles then watches as the three of them bicker about whose fault it was. She has no idea when this incident happened or why _anyone_ trusted Harry with their meal, but she can't help but feel like she missed out on so much… And she can tell that they've gotten so much closer while she's been gone. It doesn't make her jealous- it makes her more determined to make up for lost time.

They hear the front door open and the sound of clumsy footfalls.

"There's Ron." Ginny says, hopping up to meet her brother in the hallway

"That explains the copious amount of food on the table." Draco comments.

"I heard that, Malfoy." Ron enters the living room. "Sorry I'm late- shop got busy right before George came in. And I had to pick up Lav before coming here." Lavender walks in behind Ginny, who is now carrying a basket of fruit.

"Sorry to intrude, but Ron insisted I come." Lavender apologizes. Ron nods his head at Draco and Harry as means of greeting them.

"Hey, 'Mione." Ron greets her properly from afar. He still isn't sure how casual to act around her so he approaches slowly.

"Hey, Ron." Hermione responds not quite as tentatively with a friendly smile. Once he's close enough, he envelops her in a hug.

"Ron told me you like fruit, so I put a little something together." Lavender says good-naturedly and gestures to the basket that Ginny has placed on the coffee table.

"That was very thoughtful of you." Hermione responds with another smile. She's surprised that Ron brought her because these dinners are a sort of sacred tradition between the five of them…

"Might I use your bathroom before dinner gets started?" Lavender asks Ginny.

"Yes, of course. Upstairs, third door on the left." Ginny points in the direction of the staircase.

"Thank you."

As soon as she's out of earshot, Ron says in a hushed voice, "I know it's weird that I brought her but I figured I should let her spend more time with you guys…" Hermione was told that he hardly brought Lavender around before, so she wonders.. Why now?

"Why now?" Draco asks bluntly. It startles her at first because how the hell does he do that? She looks over at him gratefully for being able to ask what she was thinking… He feels her gaze almost immediately- his eyes lock with hers for a split second, he smirks ever so slightly, then returns his attention to Ron. The whole exchange happens so quickly that Ron hasn't even begun to answer yet.

"Idunno… Because I've waited long enough to do this?" Ron replies and scratches the back of his head.

"You've been together a year, Ron. I can count the number of times you've brought her around on my hands." Ginny speaks up.

"It's me, isn't it?" Hermione questions, looking intently at Ron.

"I…" He begins.

"You want me to like her." She interjects. "Because you don't want things to be weird between us." She uses her finger to gesture between herself and Ron.

"I… Yeah." He admits. "I don't… Expect you to _like_ her… I just want you to see she's not all bad…" His face reddens from embarrassment. "I really care about her." His confession makes her insides cringe, but she can see the effort he's putting into this- it's important to him, which means it should be important to her.

"And I care about you." Hermione says and lightly touches Ron's arm. "It's just gonna take some adjustment. For everyone involved. I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to give us the chance to get to know her."

"Thanks, 'Mione." Ron exhales as if a huge weight has finally been lifted off his shoulders, and smiles. Draco observes their conversation from across the room in awe. He didn't think a person could be as loyal to their friends as Hermione is to hers. If he was in her place, he probably would have given his ex _hell_. He's also in awe of the fact that she seems so unafraid to face discomfort. How does she manage do it?

"Shall we eat then?" Hermione announces once Lavender re-enters the living room.

"Please. I'm starved." Harry agrees and leads them all into the dining room. Ginny prepared a lovely meal of mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, oven-roasted chicken, lasagna, and garlic bread. "This all looks delicious, Gin."

"I hope the lasagna turned out well. It's the first time I'm trying a recipe that isn't my mother's." She moves the lasagna from its original position to a place closer to the center of the table.

Out of habit, Draco moves to pull Hermione's chair out for her. This time, however, he catches himself doing it so he glances up at Ginny. She pretends like she didn't see a thing, but he notices the little twitch of her stifled smile. Harry, on the other hand, shoots Draco a less than subtle smirk.

"Thank you." Hermione says, looking up at him after taking her seat. This simple, kind gesture from him always manages to make her stomach flutter- she should be used to it by now, but she's not. Not even close. And with what's going on- and _not_ going on- between them, her mind is racing double-time.

"No problem." He answers rather quickly and mentally slaps himself repeatedly. She eyes him curiously, feeling confused by his strange behavior. "I'm going to grab the wine from the kitchen. And might as well check on that cake."

"The wine. How could I have forgotten? I didn't even put the glasses out." Ginny scolds herself and follows Draco into the kitchen. "Thanks for reminding me about the wine." She says to Draco then levitates a bottle out of the wine shelf and signals for him to take hold of it. "It's 'Mione's favorite." She explains her choice. "Harry bought it for Easter last year, but when she owled saying she wasn't coming, he saved it and refused to open it until she came home."

"This is her favorite?"

"Her favorite red. It's the only one she'll drink."

"So that's why it's only wine we ever have at dinner. Not that I'm complaining." He admires the bottle. "She has good taste."

"Well, she let _you_ kiss her so that's debatable." She casually arranges six wine glasses on a metal tray. He feels his jaw slack while his eyes dart back and forth between Ginny and the very open doorway to the dining room. "You failed to mention that little snippet of information."

"Could you _maybe_ talk more quietly about this?" Draco whispers sharply. "And besides, I knew the whole topic would come up in Harry's and your nightly pillow talk."

"Yeah well, I should have heard from you." She picks up the tray carefully so that the glasses stay perfectly still. "Harry and I are _not_ some hermaphroditic blob." Draco knows she's absolutely right. Harry is his best friend and Ginny is a very close second. She's clever, can be a manipulative pain in the arse, and doesn't have much of a filter. Merlin knows why she didn't end up as a Slytherin… But her blunt honesty is one of his favorite things about her- it's an invaluable quality that's hard to find in people.

"I know, I should have been the one to tell you, but contrary to popular belief, I don't usually 'kiss and tell'." Even if he did, he'd want to keep _that_ particular kiss as much a secret as possible. Hermione would definitely hex him into the next _millennium_ if she found out that he blabbed. The oven beeps indicating that the cake is done. He carefully takes it out and sets it on the counter. "Let me take that." He then says to her and balances the tray of glasses in one hand with ease. His other hand is wrapped around the neck of the wine bottle. "Cast a cooling charm on the cake." Ginny takes his suggestion and wordlessly casts the charm. Hopefully it'll cool down enough so that she can decorate it after dinner. She leads them back into the dining room.

"Ah, we can _finally_ open this." Harry takes the bottle.

"He's been saving that bottle for you, 'Mione." Ron says to her.

"You didn't have to, Harry." Hermione says embarrassedly.

"This stuff is expensive. You're mad if you think I'd drink it without you." Harry states. He pours the wine and Ginny levitates each filled glass to each person's seat. Harry raises his glass and everyone follows suit. "Welcome home, 'Mione. You've been greatly missed."

"Hear, hear." Ron says happily and they all take a sip.

"Merlin, this is never _not_ good." Hermione mumbles and takes another satisfied sip. Draco, having heard what she said, chuckles quietly to himself. She _would_ be picky about her wine.

Harry officially initiates dinner by carving a piece out of the chicken and putting it on Ginny's plate. Then, as usual, he carves up the rest of it to make it easier for everyone else. Ron carefully serves some mashed potatoes to Lavender then happily slops a large mound of it onto his plate. Without exchanging any words, Draco passes the bowl of vegetables to Hermione while she simultaneously hands the plate of garlic bread over to him. They're so used to eating together that the give-and-take of their work partnership has extended into mealtime. While it's commonplace for them, it's oddly entertaining in the eyes of their two best friends. Harry and Ginny shoot each other a look. He has a hard time stifling his smile and she has to feed herself some chicken to curb the laugh threatening to escape her mouth.

"Can't even tell the difference between yours and mum's cooking." Ron praises, his mouth full of potatoes. Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all cringe at the sight of him talking with his mouth full.

"Ron's horrid table manners aside, I agree completely." Harry says, making Hermione and Ginny laugh. Lavender giggles and pats her boyfriend's arm as he shoots Harry a glare.

"You'll have to give me this lasagna recipe, Gin. It's to die for." Hermione chimes in while gesturing to the half-empty dish.

"Absolutely. Just remind me later."

The rest of dinner goes on as it usually does. A comfortable atmosphere among friends. Much to Hermione's surprise, Lavender's presence doesn't take away from it. She's much quieter than she used to be and is actually incredibly amiable. She complements Ron well- better than Hermione ever really could, now that she's thinking about it. And though that stings a bit, she's happy to see him so happy.

They all learn for the first time that Lavender works at Madame Malkins as a tailor and, for certain clientele, as a stylist. Draco is shocked to hear that his mother is one of her regulars.

"Your mother never said anything?" Ginny asks.

"Never. Not that I expected her to. No offense, Lavender, but she probably has no idea that we were in the same year."

"None taken." Lavender responds. "Truthfully, I was surprised to find out she's your mother. It's obvious that you _do_ have some of her features, but I would have never guessed she had a child my age. She looks wonderful."

"I accept that compliment on behalf of my mother. She'd be happy to know that someone- other than her son or husband, that is- thinks she hasn't aged a day over thirty." Draco chuckles.

"Your father used to accompany her all the time, but I haven't seen him in quite a while… How has he been?"

"Oh, uh. He's been alright." Draco answers awkwardly. "He-"

Before he can continue, Ginny intervenes. "Perhaps we could serve the delicious fruit Lavender brought us. What do you think?" Ginny looks over at Lavender and her brother. Ron catches on quickly enough.

"Sounds great. Lav, why don't you help Gin?" Ron smiles at his girlfriend then shoots a glance at Draco, whose face almost immediately floods with relief.

"Of course." Lavender joins Ginny as she stands.

"'Mione, since Lavender and I will be preparing this fruit, would you mind decorating the cake? It's a bit unconventional for the guest of honor to decorate their own cake, but I don't think you'll mind." Ginny gives her a cheeky grin. Draco notices it's much like the one Harry gave him this morning. This woman is becoming such a bad influence on his poor, unknowing friend that it's almost laughable.

"I don't mind at all." Hermione says, laughing. She offers Draco a sympathetic smile as she passes him on the way to the kitchen. He finds comfort in her concern.

"Sorry about that, mate. Didn't mean for you to be put on the spot like that." Ron apologizes quietly. Ron found out about Draco's father long after Harry and Ginny were told. Draco wasn't trying to intentionally keep him in the dark, it's just that he and Ron aren't particularly close. They get along fine, but it wasn't always like that. The first time Harry brought Draco to dinner, a lot of profanities were thrown around _exclusively_ by Ron. This was probably due to the fact that he didn't see it coming- Harry did a pretty good job of hiding his budding friendship with Draco.

" _Why didn't anyone fucking tell me?!"_ Ron exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at the blonde sitting across from him. " _I can deal with the niceties at Ministry events… and if I happen to run into him in Diagon Alley or something… but_ this _? I wasn't aware that we were planning to get all_ chummy _with him."_

" _I don't particularly appreciate being referred to in the third person when I'm sitting right here."_ Draco spat.

" _Cry me a fucking river, Malfoy."_ Ron spat back.

" _I'll cry a river only if you agree to_ drown _in it, Weasel."_ Draco challenged, effectively causing Ron to rise angrily from his seat.

" _Ron, you know he's different now. You know how much he's done to help the Aurors. You were there for a majority of it."_ Harry said calmly.

" _Yeah. I know. But professional relationships are completely different from personal ones. At work, we could keep each other at arm's length. Now, he'll be in what we've always considered to be our safe space."_ Hermione couldn't agree more with that sentiment. Allowing Draco into their personal lives was risky- it's much easier for the claws to come out behind closed doors.

" _I'm clearly not wanted here, Harry. I should probably go."_ Draco said in his cool drawl.

" _No. This is absolutely ridiculous."_ Ginny said loudly, startling everyone. Her voice suddenly took on a grave tone. " _Draco, stop being a prat by egging him on. Ron, sit your arse down. If neither of you can find a way to act civilized, I suggest you both leave and not come back until you're ready to do so. We are not children anymore."_ Ron sat down obediently, which Draco found interesting at the time- he didn't know Ron Weasley to be the type to back down so easily. He had heard rumors of Ginny's fiery personality but he had never experienced it firsthand. Within a month's time, he'd find out just how frightening Ginny Weasley could be. " _Now, this is not exactly the most comfortable situation for any of us, Ron, so don't you go playing the victim. I had my reservations about Draco as well, but judging from all the good things Harry's had to say about him over the years, he's worth giving a second chance. Or do I need to remind you who it was that armed Harry with the wand that defeated Voldemort?"_

" _Switching sides last minute doesn't make him any less of a slimy git. If anything, it makes him more of…"_ Ron muttered. Draco literally had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something that would get him thrown out for sure.

" _Ron, please."_ Hermione said. She was by no means thrilled to be sitting next to Draco Malfoy at their sacred weekly dinner, but she was doing her best to trust Harry's judgment and Ron was being unreasonably stubborn. The one quiet request from Hermione placated Ron almost immediately.

" _Fine."_ Ron conceded and relaxed back into his seat. Draco eyed the pair curiously. As far as he knew, they had broken things off a few months ago- it was all over the front page of every wizard tabloid _._ And while he didn't usually believe gossip, Granger _did_ attend the last Ministry event alone. The Weasel clearly still had a soft spot for her. " _I'll be nice if he does."_

" _I'll be nice."_ Draco agreed.

It took the two men six months- that's twenty four meals together- to finally go one night without arguing. They still have a good row every now and then, but it's never about anything serious. Thankfully, it's only ever about quidditch. Draco actually finds Ron rather funny and Ron is appreciative of Draco's mild protectiveness over his sister.

"It's no problem. She has no idea." Draco responds to Ron's apology.

"Well, at least we don't have to help out in the kitchen." Ron says happily.

"Yeah, but you know that means we're on dish duty." Harry reminds.

"Shit." Ron groans, which makes Draco chuckle.

"I wonder if I'm exempt since I took the lasagna out of the oven. And put the cake in." Draco leans back in his chair.

"That's only two things!" Ron barks out a laugh.

"Hey, it's two more things than you did." Draco smirks. "I also reminded her about the wine. I should be rewarded for that."

"Shut it." Ron rolls his eyes. "Did you read about last night's game?"

"Merlin, no. I completely forgot." Draco was too preoccupied with his uncharacteristic anxiety this morning to read the paper.

"Apparently it was a nail biter." Harry chimes in as he stacks the dirty dishes with his wand. "Back and forth between the Canons and Puddlemere all night."

"Well, who won?"

"Canons." Ron answers proudly. "Hiliariously enough, one of Puddlemere's beaters fell off his broom."

"That guy we hate?" Draco asks. Ron nods. "Tosser."

"You only hate him because he was all over Ginny at that party she brought us to last month." Harry says laughing.

"Well, _yeah_. Why don't _you_ hate him?" Ron furrows his brow in confusion.

"Seriously, Harry, that guy is always up to no good. On _and_ off the pitch." Draco begins to help Harry with the dishes. "Remember that game we watched last year? He knocked one of Gin's teammates right off her broom."

"He was so drunk at that party And besides, you know how much I enjoy watching Gin destroy the hopes and dreams of desperate men." Harry replies.

"You just like seeing the look on those poor guys' faces when she tells them that she's with _the_ Harry Potter." Draco grouses.

"Yeah, pretty much." Harry says with a shrug. Ron snickers.

In the kitchen, Ginny and Lavender are cutting up fruit with their wands and arranging them on a dish. Hermione is icing the cake by hand.

"You're really good at that, Hermione." Lavender praises.

"Cake decorating was one of my mother's many talents, so she taught me a few things." Hermione explains. "My father used to joke about how many past lives she must've had to be able to excel in so many things."

"'Mione is just like her mother." Harry's voice fills the room. He and Ron carry the plates of unfinished food while Draco levitates the dirty dishes into the sink.

"He's exaggerating." Hermione rolls her eyes and hands Harry a spoon covered in icing. He takes it excitedly.

Ron eyes the spoon greedily, then says, "Hey, could I-" Hermione doesn't even give him a chance to finish his sentence because she shoves another spoon covered in icing in his face. He grins from ear to ear.

Before long, he and Harry joke around with Ginny and Lavender by smearing icing on their respective significant other's face. The women squeal and try to do the same to the men. Hermione laughs at the sight of four grown adults run around the kitchen acting like teenagers.

"I don't suppose you want one." Hermione waves the off-set spatula she's been using at Draco.

"You know I don't." He chuckles then casts a spell on the sink and tableware so it'll wash itself. He leans back on the counter.

"I know you don't." She cuts a small slice out of the cake, picks up two spoons, grabs an untouched green apple from the basket, and walks over to him. She offers a fork and holds the cake slice out. No questions asked, he takes a bite out of it then places the used fork with the rest of the dirty dishes. After a quick _scourgify_ , Hermione immediately gives him the apple then hoists herself up to sit on the other side of the sink. "You know, my parents would like you based _solely_ off your perfect teeth."

"You think I have perfect teeth?" He arches an eyebrow and takes a satisfied bite out of the apple.

"Oh shuttup. You're so full of it." She stabs the slice of cake frustratedly and he smirks. She's been making a bad habit of speaking before thinking when it comes to him and it needs to stop.

"Your parents are…" He pauses so his brain can search for the right word. He vaguely remembers Harry telling him once but he can't be sure. "...dentists?" He drags out the syllables, not feeling very confident in his answer.

"Yeah." She confirms and widens her eyes a fraction because she doesn't remember ever telling him.

"What exactly is a 'dentist'?"

"They're doctors- I'm sorry, healers- that tend to people's teeth. It's a strange concept- someone caring for the inside of another person's mouth- but I assure you, it's very important in the muggle world." She explains and his face contorts into an expression that reads disgust.

"Very strange…" He doesn't understand why someone would willingly poke around a person's mouth. "But I suppose it makes sense since there's no magic to fix cavities and the like. Speaking of, I can feel myself getting a cavity just _watching_ those idiots." They've somehow managed to get icing all the counter.

"Were you deprived of sweets as a child so you never grew a sweet tooth?" She chides, taking one more bite before putting the unfinished cake slice on the counter.

"I was deprived of sweets, yes. But in truth, it made me want them even more. Our first Halloween at Hogwarts, I ate myself sick with sweets."

"You're joking." She giggles.

"I'm not. Madam Pomfrey owled my parents and everything. Father was furious, of course." He lets out a quiet laugh. "I loved Hogwarts when I was growing up. It was home- somewhere I felt like I could be a normal kid. But then the war made things complicated."

"We had to grow up too fast."

"I know… But not fast enough, apparently." He jerks his head toward their friends, who are now attempting to clean the icing off their faces and fingers. They both laugh then fall into a comfortable silence.

It's sweet, really. She had no idea Draco felt that way about Hogwarts, considering he was always bad-mouthing Dumbledore and the rest of their teachers. But Hogwarts _was_ home for so many of them.

She looks over at him watching their friends in amusement and sees him try to hide a smile behind his apple. There was a point in time when she thought it impossible for him to smile so sincerely… It's a wonder why he didn't do it more often- with those perfect teeth, no other expression is better suited for his face. Strike that. His smile is rivaled only by that annoyingly charming smirk.

"Oi, you four." Draco calls out to them. "Hurry your arses up. That fruit isn't gonna eat itself." He knows Hermione has been waiting patiently to try some of it.

"You're no fun, Draco." Ginny calls back.

"I'm plenty fun." He defends himself but it's completely lost on Ginny because she's already refocused on the glob of icing in her hair. He shakes his head and pushes off the counter. Making his way over to the platter of fruit, he picks up a small bowl on the way. He fills the bowl with strawberries, blueberries, and grapes and returns to his spot by the sink. "You're better off starting without them." He offers the fruit to Hermione. She stares at the bowl then at the expectant look on his face.

"How did you know what I wanted?"

"You offer me fruit every single day, do you really think I wouldn't have figured out what you normally eat?" She finally takes the bowl. "The cantaloupe wasn't cut up, though. I didn't know what to replace it with."

"Watermelon. I like watermelon." She tells him.

"So do I." He levitates two triangular slices of watermelon toward them. They each take a hold of one.

She takes a bite out of her slice. It's delicious. "Sweet."

He surveys his surroundings. The couples have finally calmed down- Ginny is sitting in Harry's lap, sharing a slice of cake, and Ron is gently wiping the last bit of icing off Lavender's nose. Hermione is perched on the countertop, swinging her legs back and forth and smiling to herself. She soon catches him staring. He bites down on his watermelon then repeats in agreement, "Sweet." She meets her eyes with his and smiles the kind of smile that makes his heart beat loud in his chest. Sweet. Very sweet.


	4. Chapter 4: Errands

_Falling into Place_

Chapter 4: Errands

Hermione quickly swipes tinted lip balm across her lips then tosses it into her purse. After being home for three weeks, she and Harry are _finally_ going to spend the day together- just the two of them. Granted, the only reason this is possible is because Ginny has a game in Ireland that Harry was instructed to skip… Due to the long list of errands he was left to complete in her absence. When your best friend is engaged, you take what you can get. Beggars can't be choosers.

There's a knock at her front door.

"Hello." Hermione greets her best friend excitedly as she swings the door open. Harry's smiling face falls as soon as he lays eyes on her.

"You look nice today…" Harry comments and gives Hermione a once-over with narrowed eyes before entering her flat. He closes the door behind him. "Awfully nice for a day of running errands with me…"

"I don't like that suspicious tone, Harry Potter. Am I not allowed to look nice?"

"I've never seen that dress before." He quirks an eyebrow.

"That's because I bought it while I was on assignment in Italy." She smooths out the bottom of her white, flowy sundress and readjusts the strap on one of her sandals. "It's just a sundress."

"It looks like something you'd wear on a _date_." He chides. Her cheeks flush from embarrassment, which he quickly takes note of. "Oh." He gasps and widens his eyes dramatically. "Hermione Granger, you _did_ wear that on a date."

"No- well, _yes_. If you must know, the Italian Minister's son took me out to lunch." She crosses her arms.

"You were in Italy _months_ ago and you never mentioned any Italian suitors."

"Well, I didn't think I needed to because I knew the date wouldn't amount to anything." She explains. "It was just a lunch. Or two." She averts her eyes.

"Two?! My, my. Look at you, putting yourself out there. About time." He chuckles and retrieves a water bottle from her refrigerator.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" She asks defensively.

"It's supposed to mean that you haven't gone on a date with anyone since Ron. Yes, I've been keeping track."

"You've been 'keeping track' of my love life?'

"'Mione, you're like my sister. Your happiness and well-being are important to me, so _naturally,_ I've been keeping track- being the protective older brother figure and all."

"I'm older than you." She deadpans.

"Details, details." He waves her off.

"You're ridiculous." She barks out a laugh.

"Say what you will, but this is how things are always going to be." He says casually. "You better tell Gin about that Italian. She'll have a fit if she finds out from me."

"I will, I will." She grabs the water bottle out of his hand and puts it back in the refrigerator. "Can we go? Before it starts getting crowded."

"Yeah." He takes her purse from the counter and hands it to her. She leads the way out of her flat to a nearby alleyway, takes Harry's hand, and apparates them to the apparition point near Diagon Alley. They walk the rest of the way. "So tell me about this Italian."

"So gossipy… Has anyone ever told you that Ginny is becoming a bad influence on you?" She peers over at him amusedly.

"Yeah. Draco. At least once a week." They have a good laugh as they head into Quality Quidditch Supplies.

The sales associate- whose name is William- approaches them and informs Harry that his order is being stored in the cellar for safe-keeping. He instructs them to meet him at the register while he goes to retrieve said order.

"So… the Italian." Harry reminds her. She sighs exasperatedly- she was really hoping he forgot. This is precisely why she never meant for him to know- she knew he'd turn it into something bigger than it is.

"He's a few years older and is the Charms professor at their wizarding school…" She replies.

"Sounds like your type of guy."

"How could he possibly sound like my 'type' if I've only given you two pieces of information?" She asks incredulously.

"I have no idea." He smirks. "I hear the word 'professor' and automatically assume he's intelligent."

"An even better question, why do you think I even have a 'type'? I've only ever been with Ronald."

"Just a hunch." The tone of his voice and that slight twinkle in his eye indicate that it's more than 'just a hunch'. She's ready to interrogate him about it, but the sales associate reappears with a parcel tucked under his arm.

"I hope this is to your liking." The man says, carefully opening the box to show Harry the specially made pads that Ginny ordered.

"Everything looks great, William, thank you. Ginny will be pleased." William smiles proudly and reseals the box. Harry then hands over his Gringotts card to complete the transaction. As he does this, Hermione shrinks the parcel and places it into her purse.

"That undetectable extension charm of yours never ceases to amaze me." Harry remarks after they've exited the store.

"You have more than just a hunch, Harry Potter." She accuses- in reference to their unfinished conversation- and narrows her eyes. She's searching his face for some sort of sign when the realization dawns on her. "He told you something, didn't he?"

"'He' who?" Harry asks innocently. Innocently enough that any normal friend would probably believe him- that he has no idea what you're talking about. Unlucky for him, Hermione Granger is no normal friend.

"Don't play dumb with me." She warns with a pointed finger. "What did he tell you?" For a split second, he considers lying for Draco's sake, but he would never be able to find it in him to lie to her. It wouldn't feel right. And he knows better than to mess with that pointed finger. She disciplined Grawp- a bloody giant- with one of those, imagine what it's done with her two best friends. He sighs.

"Everything. On _his_ side of the story, of course." Harry responds reluctantly. It's frustrating for him to be the best friend of both parties in this situation- both of them confide in him, so technically… He's simultaneously supposed to _not_ divulge and also _not_ hide information…

"Oh my God." She squeezes her eyes shut then covers her face. After three deep breaths, she looks up and down The Alley- it isn't busy, as it's not even noon yet, but still… "Alright, we are _not_ having this conversation out here... " She grabs his hand and drags him toward the Leaky Cauldron. Once inside, Tom greets them and shows them to their usual secluded booth. "Thank you, Tom." She smiles at the elderly man. He smiles back then leaves to give them privacy.

"What-do-you-know-?" She emphasizes every word- even the punctuation mark- and stares intently at her best friend.

"Well, he told _me_ … that he told _you_ … that he has feelings for you. Although, he didn't really have to tell me anything. Ginny and I figured that out on our own."

"Of course you did…" Hermione covers her face with both hands. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know I couldn't tell you. Draco is my friend too."

"But I was your friend first. Don't I have _seniority…_ or something?"

"'Mione…" He raises his eyebrows and gives her a pointed look. Even _she_ knows she's being ridiculous. She sighs loudly.

"And I'm assuming he told you that…" Her sentence is left unfinished.

"That he _snogged_ you?" He smirks.

"Yeah.. _That._ " It's been over a year since it happened, but sometimes she swears she can still feel his arm wrapped snugly around her waist.

"Did you snog him back?"

"Harry Potter!" Her face flushes bright red.

"You _did_." He starts chuckling, which gradually escalates to laughter.

"What's so sodding funny?!" She hisses.

"I've never seen you this embarrassed before." He says in between laughs. "It's rather cute."

"Shut it. I'll show you cute." She crumples up a napkin and throws it at his head.

Instinctively, he catches it before it can hit him. "Alright calm down." One of Hermione's favorite things about Harry is how he can go from playful to serious in the blink of an eye. She does as she's told and folds her hands in her lap. "Surely you know I _can't_ really tell you what he told me."

"Yes, I know…" She never truly expected him to because even though Harry has never said it out loud, he respects and cares for Draco too much to betray his trust. But she still wishes that he _would_ tell her- if only for curiosity's sake. She genuinely wonders what Draco has said about her.

"Right. I will say this, though," He pauses and adjusts his glasses. "He's a bit out of sorts."

"He said that?" The idea of Draco Malfoy being 'out of sorts' both unnerves her _and_ lights a little flicker of hope deep within her.

"Well, no. I can just tell. He hides it well, but I know him better than he thinks I do."

"Because he puts up the same walls as you. Walls that make it easy to internalize everything." She recalls their entire adolescence - Harry carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and tended to close himself off. He believed it wasn't anyone else's job to carry his burdens. Thinking about that time for Draco, she can't even imagine how difficult it must have been for him to grow up in that house, to become a Death Eater, to be forced to murder someone... She shudders.

"Hey, I'm not as bad as I used to be." He points out jokingly.

"You really aren't." She smiles.

"You're one of the main reasons why I got better. And Ginny and Ron of course, but you… You were more vocal than everyone else - making sure I _knew_ I was never alone…" He reaches across the table and lightly grips her hand.

"I couldn't ever let you forget." She squeezes back as tears sting the back of her eyes. When they were kids, Harry meant the world to her. He grew up in the muggle world _just_ like her. He saved her from a bloody mountain troll, even though they weren't even friends yet! She always admired him. She still does.

"You'd be able to break down his walls, you know." He interrupts her train of thought.

"What?" She shakes her head to regain focus.

"Draco. You'd be able to help him."

"I couldn't. It's not my place." She doesn't have the right to do that. If anyone should be helping him with those walls, it should be his fiancee, regardless of their arrangement.

"You care about him, don't you?"

She furrows her eyebrows. 'Care'? It feels like a loaded question. She does care. But she always comes back to the fact that she feels like they hardly know each other. Can she wholeheartedly say that she 'cares' about him even though they're barely friends? "Well… I suppose so… He's my partner. And our partnership is important to me."

"Is that really all he is to you? Your partner?" He gives her another pointed look because, for being the brightest witch of their age, she can sometimes be a bit slow… But he can't be putting ideas in her head. If she cares for Draco, she needs to realize it herself.

"I- I…" She's ready to tell Harry how she feels about Draco, but she's hesitant. Saying it out loud makes it all too real… It reminds her that she was too late and that it's no one's fault but her own. She runs a hand through her hair. Oh Merlin, has she really picked up that habit from him? "I care about him." A loud, frustrated sigh escapes her lips. "I wanted to _try_ … to be more than partners. To try to build a relationship from the ground up- starting with becoming _actual_ friends."

"You don't think you're friends?" He asks, feeling very confused. If they aren't friends, then what the hell does she think they are?

"I don't feel like we are. We're partners, we work really well together. We see each other five days a week… But I don't feel like I _really_ know him because we only ever talk about work."

"You know him, 'Mione. More than he thinks you do. More than _you_ think you do." If only they could see themselves at dinner… Their synchronicity is spooky. "It's not like you spent seven years of your life actively getting to know Ron before you got together. Friendships are works in progress. They grow and you learn slowly- so slowly that you don't even notice it."

"But Ron and I became friends first year. Draco and I…"

"Started as enemies. Right. Is that why you feel like you need to start at square one with him? Because of the past?"

"No, no of course not. I've learned to let go of our past. Is it ridiculous of me to want to start from scratch with him? To ask him about his favorite color. Or about his childhood hobbies. I learned all those things about you and Ron because we grew up together. There's this large chunk of Draco I know nothing about and I…" She sighs for the upteenth time. "Idunno, it makes more sense in my head."

Harry smiles widely at his best friend. Only Hermione Granger would go to such lengths. Harry knows that the reason she's hell-bent on 'starting from scratch' with Draco is because he means more to her than she realizes. They've already established a bond and she wants to fill in the gaps.

"Hm," is all he manages to say with that smile still plastered on his face.

"What on Earth are you smiling about? God, you must think I'm ridiculous."

"No more than usual." His smile twitches up into a smirk. "But I think I know what you're getting at. Friendship will help you feel more comfortable with moving things forward."

"Exactly." Everyone attributes 'the brains' of the 'Golden Trio' to her, and while it's not completely off base, Harry is much more observant and intuitive than people give him credit for.

"So Hermione Granger has feelings for Draco Malfoy, huh?"

"I guess she does…" Her face flushes again. "She just took a while to come to terms with it. And now it's too late." She shrugs. "I suppose I should have seen that coming."

"You couldn't have seen that coming. None of us could have. He just went and got engaged. Who the hell does that?"

"I take it you don't approve."

"Not really. I think he's being a great big idiot- marrying for his parents' sake."

"His father's sick, Harry." She tries to rationalize.

"But I don't understand why he had to go an ask some woman he hasn't spoken to in over a decade… An arranged marriage? It's ridiculous. He's made all this _progress_ and all of a sudden he's _regressed_ because of these antiquated Pureblood ideals."

"Have you met her?" She remembers virtually nothing about the Greengrasses.

"Not yet. Draco's never brought her around. Says we'll 'meet her at their engagement party'. Whenever that is."

"I'm sure she's a good person. Draco wouldn't just marry anyone." She offers in defense for her partner. Draco is no idiot, no matter how much Harry thinks he is.

"You of all people couldn't possibly approve of this… Could you?"

"I don't approve of anyone marrying for anything other than love. But he needs the support more than anything right now. His father is dying, his mother is probably doing everything in her power to _not_ fall into a deep depression, and Draco… He's probably hiding behind his newly fortified walls- trying to hold his family together. On his own." She looks at Harry with sad eyes because she's all too familiar with this feeling of helplessness. "The best thing we can do is _be_ there if and when he needs us."

Harry agrees with a slight nod and sigh of resignation. "Alright." This is Hermione Granger: the voice of reason. "But then where does this leave _you_ , 'Mione?"

"Well, I can't bring myself to tell him how I feel because it would be selfish. Too selfish. He doesn't need another complication in his life. So it leaves me… here." She waves a hand at their surroundings. "Stuck with my best friend, running errands." She smirks.

"Sounds like a fairly decent place to be stuck." He smirks back.

"Eh. Debateable." She shrugs nonchalantly, to which Harry immediately responds by throwing the crumpled napkin back at her. It hits her shoulder and she laughs. His face resettles into a serious expression.

"Are you… okay? I mean, have you been okay?" He frowns because she's been keeping all this to herself for three weeks already. If only they had this conversation earlier… but some things can't be helped.

"Still adjusting to everything but I'll be okay, in due time." She smiles this sort of half smile. Not quite forced but not quite sincere. Just enough to make herself feel better.

* * *

"Did Kingsley give you a raise or something?" Harry asks as he runs his hand over a rack of clothes in Twillfits. She managed to interrupt his errands and drag him in here because a dress caught her eye in the window display.

"What are you getting at?" Hermione peeks over the rack across from him.

"Twillfits? Notoriously considered more 'high-end' than Madame Malkins."

"No, Harry, I didn't get a raise." She rolls her eyes then ducks her head back down to continue her search. To be perfectly honest, Hermione began taking more interest in her clothing choices while she was away. Being in Paris, Milan, New York City… Opened her eyes to this whole new world of fashion she never even knew existed. Some people might mistake this sudden care for outward appearance as vanity, but she likes to think differently. Cutting her hair and changing her style are the most selfish things she's _ever_ done for herself. And isn't everyone entitled to be selfish every once and a while?

"This." Harry appears from the rack behind her, a dress in hand. "This is what you're looking for, isn't it?"

It absolutely is. She rushes over to him. "How'd you know…?" She didn't say anything about the dress when she dragged him into the store.

"I'm brilliant." He states matter-of-factly. "I saw you eyeing it."

"There were three other dresses in the display, how did you figure this was the one?"

"Idunno, I guess this one caught my eye too." He holds up the hanger in the air and aligns the dress with her body. "Are you going to try it on?"

"I didn't intend to, but…"

"Go." He shoves the dress into her arms and pushes her toward the dressing rooms.

Five minutes later, Hermione draws the curtain of her dressing room back to find Harry _not_ sitting on the chaise like she thought he would. She sighs then faces the full-length mirror to take a good look at herself. The dress is tasteful. Mauve. Pretty in a way that's almost _too_ girly… The bodice is form-fitting with a lace overlay. High neckline. The skirt is tulle, which is a material she doesn't usually wear because it has the tendency to look 'poofy'... But this has just the right amount of volume so it flows down effortlessly to her knees. Quickly grabbing her sandals from the floor, she transfigures them into a pair of nude heels. After slipping those on, she returns to the sales floor to show Harry. She doesn't see him, but she can hear him speaking to someone- most likely the sales associate. Following the sound of his voice to the far left of the store, she ends up in the men's section.

She's busy tucking away a tag under her arm, so without looking up, she asks, "Harry, what do you think?"

"You look like a ballerina." He responds.

As soon as she's confident that the tag is hidden, she looks up and tells him, "That's kind of why I like it. You know how I wanted to be a ballerina pre-Hogwarts." Instead of seeing Harry with a sales associate, she sees Harry with Draco. "Hi." She greets Draco stupidly.

It takes Draco a few seconds to formulate a response because he's a little too preoccupied with what he's looking at. "Hello." He finally greets back, clearly just as surprised as she is.

"Like I was saying, 'Mione's helping me run errands." Harry says, his eyes darting back and forth between his two friends.

"Well, _this_ wasn't on his list of errands." Hermione explains embarrassedly. Just her luck- he shows up a few hours after they talked about him.

"I was forced against my will." Harry grouses. "But well-worth the pit stop, I think." He looks over at Hermione again to admire the dress. "You look great, 'Mione."

"It's a bit girly for my taste, but…" She smooths down the skirt.

"It looks nice on you." Draco encourages. "Very high fashion." She really does look lovely. It brings him back to fourth year at the Yule Ball when she made her grand entrance with Krum. She turned a lot of heads that night- his included.

"Thanks." She nervously tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Why is she acting like a ridiculous teenage girl? It's like she's begging Harry to make fun of her later… She draws confidence from that thought alone and casually rolls her shoulders back. "I'm not sure what I'd wear this to, though. It's really only appropriate for special events."

"You'll find a reason." Harry comments then looks over to Draco. "You should see what she's been wearing all day. I told her she looks awfully nice for someone who's spending the day running errands. Someone else's errands, no less." Both Hermione and Draco see straight through Harry's feigned nonchalance. He's just trying to stir the pot and he _will_ be chastised for it.

"Shuttup." Hermione crosses her arms in front of her chest and heads back to the dressing room.

"Judging from your heightened obnoxiousness, I'm assuming you two talked today." Draco asks as soon as he knows that she's out of earshot.

"Your assumption is correct." Harry fiddles with a few ties on display.

"Aaaand you're not going to tell me anything else."

"You know I can't. I respected your privacy and I will give her the same courtesy."

"You always have to be such a good friend." Draco grunts as he runs a hand through his hair.

"Well, one of us has to." Harry gives him a pointed look. "She's doing a fair bit better than you, I think."

"I'm sure. Her coping mechanisms are much more evolved than mine." Draco picks up a tie in the same color as the dress Hermione tried on. Harry watches as his friend pinches the tie's fabric between his fingers. "This isn't quite my color. It looks spectacular on her, though." Draco puts the tie back. As if he needs a metaphorical reminder of the thing he wants but can't have.

"You sure you don't want to talk to your parents? It's not too late to call things off..."

"I thought we weren't going to argue about this anymore, Harry."

"We're not. I was just _saying_." Harry sighs loudly. These two friends of his are driving him up a wall. Hermione reappears. "You're not getting the dress?" He questions her empty hands.

"Not today. I will when I find a reason to wear it." She turns to Draco and says, "So, would you like to join us for tea?"

"I thought today was just for us." Harry interjects.

"Well you managed to run into Draco- it would be rude not to invite him."

"It's not my fault he happened to walk into the same store as us."

Hermione glares at her best friend. "Ignore him. You've gotten good at it anyway." She says to Draco, who snickers at Harry's dejected expression.

"I'd like to. I need to finish a few things first but I can meet you afterwards." Draco replies.

"Dear?" A voice reaches them followed by the sound of light footfalls. They turn toward the sound. "Dear, were you able to find your father's handkerchiefs?" Narcissa Malfoy glides into the room, taking Harry and Hermione by surprise. Neither of them have seen Draco's parents in a decade…

"Yes, Mother. They're being packaged for us." Draco responds. He looks over at Harry and Hermione and finds them staring at his mother. He clears his throat. "Er, Mother. This is-"

"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." Narcissa finishes her son's sentence. "Yes, Dear, we've met, remember?" She takes a step closer to them. "And even if we hadn't, it would be impossible to _not_ know two of the most famous faces in the wizarding world."

"Mother-" Draco tries to reel his mother back in. He's worried she might intimidate them.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Malfoy." Harry greets respectfully.

"Especially nice under these amicable circumstances." Hermione adds with a cordial nod of her head. Draco glances over at the pair, feeling impressed with their composure and confidence.

"Ah. Mrs. Malfoy. What a pleasure it is to see you again." The sales associate approaches the small group. "My sister took special care with the stitching on these." He hands a wooden box to Draco.

"I also would like to inquire about the dress robes I ordered last month." Draco says to the man.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. If you would follow me, I can refer to our record book." Draco follows him toward the front counter, but not before shooting his mother a warning glance. Hopefully she'll behave and be nice.

"I'm sorry that this is the first time we're meeting again since the war." Narcissa offers. "Draco has been a bit ashamed about Lucius and me. Not that I can blame him." She looks over at her son and smiles lovingly.

"He's not ashamed of you, Mrs. Malfoy." Harry says. "Forgive me, but I suspect he wants to keep his father… sheltered."

"I suppose you're right. He is rather protective of us. My Draco- he's a good man. A very good man. He's grown into a man I hardly even recognize and it's wonderful." She smiles kindly at them. "And I believe I have you to thank for that, Mr. Potter."

"There's nothing to thank me for, ma'am. And please, call me Harry."

"You helped him believe in himself again- you gave him the second chance he was convinced he didn't deserve."

"He is well-deserving of it. I will say, though, _Minister Shacklebolt_ is the one to thank for hiring him into the Auror department as our consultant."

"Under your recommendation, as I've heard. _You_ told the Minister what Draco did for you at Battle of Hogwarts."

"Well credit needs to be given where credit is due. I would have told the whole wizarding world, too, if Draco hadn't instructed me to keep quiet about it. I was rather impressed with him."

"Yes, humility was never one of my son's strong suits." Harry and Narcissa share a laugh.

"They seem to be getting along well." Draco suddenly mutters from beside Hermione.

"Merlin, Draco, you need to stop sneaking up on me like that. Damned Slytherin." Hermione hisses and he elicits a low chuckle. "But, yes, they do. He _is_ Harry."

"Is everything in order, Draco?" Narcissa asks.

"Yes, Mother. Are you ready to go?"

"Just about." She smiles then turns to Harry. "Harry, do come to the Manor sometime, won't you? We haven't had guests in ages."

"Mother, I'm not sure-"

"Hush, Draco. It will be alright." She waves off her son. "Your father _will_ behave. I'll make sure of it. And besides, he should get to know the people you hold most dear."

" _People_?" Draco chokes out.

"Yes, of course. Miss Weasley, Mister Weasley, and," she looks at Hermione now, "Miss Granger."

"Erm, well-" Draco looks at Hermione too. The last time she was at the Manor… She was tortured right in front of him. He didn't even care for her at that time, but it was one of the most harrowing things he'd ever experienced- watching one of his classmates suffer like that… At the hand of his aunt, no less. He feels sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

"We'd love to, Mrs. Malfoy. Whenever you'd like to have us, we'll be there." Hermione answers confidently. She knows she _sounds_ confident. She doesn't quite feel it, though. She _can_ , however, feel Draco's eyes boring into her skull, which she chooses to ignore. For the time being.

"Wonderful. Perhaps next month? Some time after the engagement party." Harry and Hermione shoot each other look at the mentioning of 'engagement party'. "Look for my owl." She clasps her hands together in excitement. "Come, Draco, your father should be waking from his nap soon." As if his mother has been waiting for _him_ this whole time… Draco rolls his eyes.

"We'll see you soon, Mrs. Malfoy." Harry bids her goodbye.

"Goodbye, Harry, Miss Granger." Narcissa says with a smile then glides right on out of the room.

"I'm going to drop my mother off at home then I'll meet you." Draco says to them.

"Well, we're going to a cafe in muggle London because I'm done with my errands here." Harry explains, noting Draco's seemingly wary expression. Draco goes into muggle London for one of two reasons: to visit Harry and Ginny, or to accompany Harry to the muggle menswear shop near 12 Grimmauld Place- all the muggle suits he owns are from there. "Meet us in the Leaky Cauldron- we can all go together. Don't want your Pureblooded arse to get lost in muggle London." Hermione giggles while Draco narrows his eyes.

"Git." Draco spits before turning around to follow after his mother. "I'll be back in twenty minutes." He calls over his shoulder as he skirts out the door.

"Do you want to visit Ron and George for the time being?" Hermione asks Harry.

"Every time I'm there, George tries to give me samples of their new merchandise…" Harry groans.

"Don't pretend like you don't love being one of the first people to try them out."

"Well, I do love that, but I'm also one of the first to suffer the consequences of a faulty item."

"And _I_ love that." She smirks.

"You're cruel." He pushes her playfully.

"Oh come on." She grabs his already outstretched arm and drags him out of the store the same way he was dragged in.

Weasleys Wizard Wheezes is busy as usual. So busy, in fact, that it takes Harry and Hermione almost ten minutes to get Ron to even notice they're there.

"Oh, hey." Ron squeezes past George talking to a customer. "Didn't know you'd be around today." He pats Harry on the shoulder and gives Hermione an awkward side-hug due to the crowded shop.

"I'm running errands for your sister." Harry explains, talking loudly over the crowd.

"Busy day." Hermione says, looking around the shop. She forgot how busy it gets on a Saturday during summer vacation.

"It's been kind of hectic for the past hour or so. A family with no less than a dozen kids walked in and _of course_ they have a question about _everything_. George and I are about ready to tear our hair out."

"What's this about hair?" George says from behind Ron, which startles him enough to punch his brother in the shoulder. "Shit, that hurt." He nurses his sore arm.

"You know not to sneak up on me like that." Ron retorts gruffly. "I was just telling them about that family."

"Oh. the ones that make us want to rip our hair out."

"Yeah." Ron laughs. "Are they even planning on buying anything? Or are they just here to annoy the shit out of us?"

"I don't even have the energy to care to know." George looks over at Harry expectantly. "I've got something new for you."

"Oh, Merlin." Harry rolls his eyes then asks very seriously, "What is it?"

"Lemme show you. It's in the cellar. You gonna be alright for a minute or two?" George asks his brother, who nods in response.

While George and Harry scurry toward the cellar stairs, Hermione and Ron are left alone for the first time in a long time.

"So…" Ron scratches the back of his head nervously. "Running errands with Harry, then?"

"Yeah. Not an ideal way to spend time with someone, but Ginny…"

"Is Ginny." He finishes her sentence and laughs. He knows full well that his little sister has his best friend- the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the person who defeated the Dark Lord- wrapped around her finger. "The three of us should do something together… It's been a while."

"It has…." The last time the trio spent time together goes as far back as when she and Ron were still together because after they split, it took them some time to even be able to feel comfortable in the same room. Just because their breakup was mutual, doesn't mean it didn't hurt… "We _should_ do something. How about next Saturday?"

"I'm… not entirely sure, to be honest. George and I tend to keep open availability for the shop on Saturdays…"

"That's alright. We'll find time." Hermione encourages.

"What'd I miss?" Harry asks, stepping up beside Ron.

"Just making plans." Hermione tells him.

"You told him about Mrs. Malfoy?"

"What about Mrs. Malfoy?" Ron asks, shocked.

"Oh. I guess not. We ran into Draco." Harry begins to explain.

"Yeah, he stopped by a little while ago." Ron offers.

"Right. Turns out he was here with his mother."

"We haven't seen her…"

"Since the Battle, yeah, I know. It was really weird for us too. Anyway, she's actually a very nice woman, believe it or not. She wants us to come over for tea some time."

"Tea? Like… at that bloody Manor?" Ron almost growls. "Is she mental?"

"Don't be rude, Ronald." Hermione reprimands him.

"But it's just… I mean- we can't go back there…" Ron pauses and looks gravely at Hermione. " _You_ can't go back there."

"We can and we will." Hermione says definitively.

"She serious?" Ron looks over at his best friend incredulously.

"Yeah. 'Mione was the one who agreed. Needless to say, I was stunned. Even Draco froze up. I was about ready to decline the offer when she swooped in told her that we'd love to."

"'Mione…" Ron says worriedly.

"I'm very appreciative of your concern, but it's about time I face those demons." She says, feeling a little more confident than she did before.

"When, then?" Ron crosses his arms.

"We don't know. She said she'd owl us." Harry replies.

"Alright. As long as all of us are on board…" Both Ron and Harry look at Hermione. She nods.

"Ron, I need you over here." George suddenly calls from the register, effectively interrupting and ending their conversation.

"Sorry, I gotta go. It's probably those kids."

"It's alright, so do we." Harry says with a smile.

"Thanks for stopping by, you two. I'll see you on Friday." Ron squeezes Harry's shoulder then gives Hermione another awkward side-hug.

Hermione stands on her toes and yells, "Bye, George!" She and Harry wave goodbye then rush out of the shop just as another group of children come in. They walk in tandem into the Leaky Cauldron and easily spot Draco sitting alone at the bar.

Harry quietly slides onto the empty stool next to him and says, "Come here often?"

Without looking up from his drink, Draco begins, "No, but I'm meeting this gorgeous redhead who plays on the Harpies for a quick shag… So why don't you bugger off-" He looks up from his drink to see Harry sitting with Hermione standing closely behind. "Oh, fucking hell, Harry." He feigns shock. "I'm not- It's not what it looks like."

It's Harry's turn to say, "Git." He then proceeds to down the rest of Draco's scotch without permission in an attempt to anger Draco. "Damn, that's smooth."

"Right?" Draco agrees, amused with his friend's antics. "We ready to go?" Harry nods and Hermione leads them to the apparition point.

* * *

"So you've never exited into muggle London through the Leaky Cauldron?" Hermione asks in disbelief.

"I've never had a reason to before. I apparate to Harry's." Draco shrugs.

"We need to take him through that door one day." Hermione says to Harry.

"You're missing out on so much, mate." Harry says as he takes a bite out of Hermione's scone. She glares at him because she never offered to share. He just smiles back innocently.

"What could I possibly be missing out on?" Draco scoffs.

"This cafe, for one." Harry gestures to their surroundings. "This place is _much_ better than Madame Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade. No snogging teenage couples in sight. And their menu is delicious. Seriously, try this scone." Harry breaks off a piece of Hermione's scone and offers it to Draco. Hermione rolls her eyes at her best friend- she's barely had any of her own scone- but she nods in agreement anyway.

"That _is_ really good…" Draco is astonished by the quality.

"We'll ease you into all the muggle sightseeing. I'm afraid you might go into cardiac arrest if you're around too many of them for too long." Harry teases. He loves making Draco the butt of his Pureblood jokes.

"Or maybe he'd start foaming at the mouth." Hermione adds.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. You two are hilarious, really." Draco rolls his idea of muggle sightseeing has piqued his interest, though. For a while, he didn't understand the appeal, but he knows how much Hermione enjoys it… He looks over at her- she's trying to keep her scone out of Harry's reach and she even managed to snatch Harry's croissant off his plate.

"Oh, come _on_ , 'Mione." Harry tries to reach for her plate- that now holds her scone and his croissant- but fails.

"You should've gotten one for yourself instead of stealing mine." She argues. "You haven't even had any of your croissant, so I've taken it as collateral." Harry reaches again and Hermione swats his hand away.

"If you two keep fussing around like that, something's bound to spill." Draco warns. "You also look like children." The two immediately stop what they're doing and shoot Draco a less than friendly glare, which he has a good laugh about. "Alright, continue if you must. But it would be very unfortunate if Hermione spilled something on her perfectly white dress." While their attention is diverted, Draco plucks the last piece of the scone off Hermione's plate and pops it in his mouth. Her jaws drops in shock, as does Harry's.

"We should have known that was going to happen." Harry mutters, defeated.

"Damned Slytherin." She mutters for the second time that day. Draco chuckles, which makes Harry laugh. Hermione tries to stay composed because she's not sure what's so funny, but watching them laugh makes it difficult to keep a straight face. "You're both ridiculous." She cracks a smile then splits Harry's chocolate croissant in thirds and offers each of them a piece.

"What were we even talking about before?" Harry asks after taking a bite. Draco and Hermione shrug because they have no idea. "Doesn't matter now, I guess. New topic: will you accompany me on the rest of my errands?" Draco groans. "C'mon, mate. A muggle supermarket. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Not in the slightest." Hermione deadpans.

"You don't get a say, 'Mione. Today was supposed to be for us in the first place." He narrows his eyes at her and she laughs.

"I have nowhere to be." Draco concedes.

"Great." Harry is very satisfied that he doesn't have to grocery shop on his own. He hates when Ginny leaves it for him because he always manages to forget something.

The three finish up the rest of their drinks and set off toward the supermarket. As Hermione expected, she ends up doing most of the shopping. Harry just pushes around the cart. He claims that he's less likely to forget things if she takes the lead. She thinks that's absolute rubbish, but she honestly doesn't mind doing it. She rather enjoys teaching Draco the ins and outs of grocery shopping.

"What in Merlin's name is this?" Draco picks up a package of instant ramen.

"Ramen noodles. You just pour hot water on top and wait three minutes." Hermione explains.

"What…?" He widens his eyes and stares at the package.

"'Mione, do we usually have long grain or short grain in the house?" Harry walks toward them carrying two bags of rice.

"Ginny gets short grain." She replies. "How did you manage grocery shopping for the year and a half I was gone?"

"I always went with Ginny." Harry tells her then walks back down the aisle to return a bag of rice.

"That redhead is too smart for her own good… She purposely made Harry run these errands _today_ because she knew I'd be around." Hermione says to no one in particular.

"I'm convinced that woman belonged in Slytherin." Draco says absent-mindedly as he turns over the package and begins to read the cooking instructions. She is thoroughly amused with the sight of Draco Malfoy standing in a muggle supermarket, analyzing a package of instant ramen. "Stop staring at me. You're making me feel like an idiot." He says without looking up. She smiles and takes the ramen out of his hands.

"Do you want to try this?"

"I… Idunno, is it good?" He asks cautiously.

"It's alright. I used to love these when I was growing up, but they're terribly unhealthy so my parents rarely bought them." She tosses the package into the cart. "It's good enough for you to try at least once. My treat." He gives her this sort of sheepish smile, which she finds so endearing that she has to turn away from him. She sees Harry standing only a few feet away, clearly keeping his distance in order to observe. She shoots him a nasty look then pushes the cart past him. He doesn't even try to hide the triumphant smirk on his face. If he wasn't her best friend, she's sure she'd hex him right here.

The rest of their shopping trip goes on just like that- Harry making sure he's picked up the right things, Draco asking about strange muggle food products, and Hermione answering every question they throw at her. When they get to the checkout lanes, Harry and Draco empty the cart onto the conveyor belt while Hermione bags the groceries in an organized fashion.

On their way out of the store, a man clad in workout attire calls out to her as he approaches. "Hermione Granger?"

"Hi…" She answers warily then shoots Harry and Draco a confused glance. Who is this guy?

"Nathaniel. Nathaniel Saunders?" He gestures to himself and takes off his baseball cap as if it'll help jog her memory.

"Saunders…" She wracks her brain until it finally clicks. Harry and Draco can almost see the metaphorical lightbulb go off in her head. "Nate! From down the street. I didn't even recognize you."

"Yeah, I lost a little weight." He answers embarrassedly. 'A little' is an understatement. He's probably lost twenty five kilos since she last saw him. Now, he's all muscle… "I haven't seen you in… six years? A long time. You still look great, though." He offers and not-so-subtly looks her up and down. 'Still'..?

Harry clears his throat.

"Er, right. Nate, this is Harry." Hermione introduces him. Harry quirks an eyebrow and flashes a smirk at her before stretching his arm out for Nate to shake.

"Nice to meet you." Harry says politely.

"And this is Draco." She says.

Draco looks extremely disinterested, but he offers his hand anyway and says, "Hello," in his cool drawl. She looks at him curiously because they rarely see this version of Draco anymore.

"Nate and I were neighbors." She begins to explain.

"We went to primary school together. Her mother was my dentist." Nate continues. "After she left for that secondary boarding school, I only ever saw her during summer break."

"Boarding school." Draco repeats flatly, trying to stifle a smirk. Is that what she told people? It's not a lie, but still… Harry elbows Draco as means of berating him, but Harry just ends up stifling his own smirk.

"Harry and Draco went to the same boarding school as me." She subtly glares at them. "That's why we all know each other." She tells Nate.

"I see. So are you both from around here?" Nate asks them.

"Yeah, I actually live a few blocks from here." Harry replies. "Draco is… Not from this part of London." Draco coughs to hide a laugh and Harry elbows him again.

"Do _you_ live around here?" Hermione asks to distract Nate.

"No, I actually ended up moving to Brighton about three years ago. I'm just visiting some friends for the week. Speaking of-" Nate looks down at his watch. "They're waiting for me so I should probably get going. Maybe we could meet up again while I'm here?"

Clearly, Nate is directing this question only at Hermione. Draco straightens up and clenches his jaw in restless anticipation. Meanwhile, Harry peers over Draco to try to gauge his reaction.

"Um… I- I work five days a week… And, uh, I always spend Friday nights with friends." Hermione answers awkwardly, cursing the fates for putting her in a situation like this. How is she supposed to respond to the advances of another man when the man she has feelings for is standing right there? Is she supposed to say 'no' because she has feelings for someone? Or 'yes' because that someone is already engaged to someone else?

"Next Saturday, then. I'm leaving the day after." Nate looks at her eagerly.

"I might be able to do coffee in afternoon…" She has no idea how she came to this decision but there's no turning back now.

Draco's jaw tightens even more.

Nate looks a little disappointed that 'coffee' is all she's offered, so Harry steps in and says, "Sorry, mate, I had already asked her to help Draco and me with some stuff."

Draco visibly relaxes. Harry meets his eyes for a split second before focusing back on Nate.

Hermione sighs in relief- leave it to Harry to swoop in and save her. What compelled her to suggest coffee? She has no interest in entertaining Nate… Perhaps a part of her knows she'd feel bad if she flat out rejected him right there and then.

"I see…" Nate furrows his brows and his eyes dart from Harry to Hermione to Draco and back to Hermione. "Coffee sounds great. I'll, uh-" He pulls a cellphone out his pocket. "I'll call you."

"Oh, right. Sure." Hermione begins reciting her number so Nate can save it onto his phone.

Draco has seen Hermione use her muggle cellphone a few times to speak with her parents. The thought of her using it for any other reason never dawned on him…

"Well, it was nice meeting you two." Nate gives a half-hearted wave then jogs away.

"Nathaniel Saunders." Harry states plainly as soon as Hermione turns back toward them. "Friendly."

"He's harmless." She says- moreso for Draco's benefit than Harry's.

"You picked a hell of a day to wear that dress." Harry gives her a look as if to say 'I told you so.'

"Shut it." She huffs. If Harry's going to be weirdly protective of her, there's nothing she can do to change it. She looks around to make sure there are no muggles, then quickly shrinks the grocery bags so they can put them into her purse.

On the walk back to Harry's, they stop at a bakery.

"I'm just gonna step in and get a few things for Ginny. It looks pretty crowded in there so you two can just… wait out here…" He gives both of them a look. "I won't be long."

Now that they're alone, the atmosphere is heavy. Weighing down on their shoulders. Hermione looks at Draco. His expression is flat. Still disinterested. There's that wall he likes putting up.

"It's just coffee." She says, looking straight at him. He won't meet her eyes- he keeps looking past her- and it's incredibly irritating. "Should I have declined his invitation?" She asks a little more harshly than she intended.

He finally looks at her and releases the breath he feels like he's been holding since the supermarket. "No, of course not."

"I'm sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable."

"Why would I feel uncomfortable? Because you're getting coffee with a man you haven't seen in six years, even though you rejected the man you see everyday?" He asks sarcastically, his voice cold.

"Draco." She says just as coldly, daring him to continue with his attitude. "I _never_ rejected you. You know that."

"I'm sorry." He sighs frustratedly. He knows she didn't. Even if she was planning to, he hadn't given her the chance to do it. "You have every right to go out with whomever you please."

"I know I do." She says plainly. As if she'd ever let a man dictate her life decisions. "But he really is harmless."

"I wouldn't be so sure. He wasn't very subtle with the way he ogled you." He arches an eyebrow. "I can't really blame him, though." Draco's once-over is done much more tastefully- to admire, as opposed to ogle. "Harry's right. You picked a hell of a day to wear something like that." He gestures to her outfit.

"Shuttup." She scolds him and her face flushes red. He went from almost starting an argument with her to hitting on her in a matter of seconds. The man is completely absurd.

He laughs and says sincerely, "You look nice." Oh great, now he's being sweet.

"Thanks…" She backtracks to their original conversation, "I mean it when I say that Nate is harmless. But I hope that if I ever happen to… find someone I care about, you could be supportive… As supportive as I am of you and your engagement." God only knows how painful it is for her to sit idly by.

He looks at her again- _really_ looks at her- and feels a pain in his chest. These are the words of someone who is forcing herself to be silently resigned. Because of _him._

He hears himself saying, "I'll be supportive." He doesn't particularly want to, though, so he adds, "But I can't promise that I'll like the guy." The seriousness in his tone makes her laugh out loud. "You think I'm kidding."

"On the contrary, I think you're being one hundred percent serious." She smiles. "And I'm okay with that."

"Well, good."

"I _can_ promise you that I won't hate Astoria." The name feels strange coming out of her mouth.

"That's because you're a much better person than I am."

"This is true." They laugh a little. Their eye contact does not waiver. "Can I ask you something?" He nods. "Why are you waiting until your engagement party to introduce her to everyone?"

He wasn't expecting that question. "Um, well, I feel like introducing her to people in a casual setting makes it seem too real. Our relationship, I mean."

"Shouldn't it be real, though? You're engaged, after all…"

"It's complicated… I guess it makes things too personal."

"And you don't want things to feel personal between you?" She doesn't quite understand the logic behind that.

"No." He answers truthfully. "We agreed to this arrangement, not to emotional involvement. An arranged marriage is archaic and not at all _ideal_ , but it's the kind of thing families like ours will overlook for tradition's sake."

"I mean no offense, but are all Pureblood values absolutely insane?"

"Most, but not all. There is one shining beacon of morality among Pureblood values- the importance of family. Even if your family is the type to be disillusioned by a powerful dark wizard for decades… Family is still everything." With that, Hermione holds back any other comments she planned on making. She can't argue against it. "Can I ask _you_ something _?"_

"Sure."

"Why did you accept my mother's invitation to come to the Manor for tea? I can't imagine you ever wanting to go back there… Not after what my… family did to you." He feels his stomach lurch.

"Like I told Harry and Ron, I decided it was time for me to face my demons. What better way to do it than _at the place_ where I first encountered them?" She shrugs, trying not to make a big deal out of it. But she knows the minute the owl from Mrs. Malfoy arrives, it's going to be a lot more difficult to conceal her anxiety. "Does your father know that I'm a part of your life?"

"Yeah, I told both my parents straight away as soon as we started working together. He gave me a bit of grief about it at first- 'how can you stand working with a muggle born like her' and all that rubbish-" Hermione cringes. Draco gives an apologetic look. "But he eventually shut up about it. I should warn you though, just because my father is a dying old man, doesn't mean he's gotten much nicer. He's cold and aloof as ever, but he listens to my mother so she'll make sure he behaves. It'll be alright."

"Everything turns out alright in one way or another- I'm a firm believer in that." She's not sure how many times she's said a variation of that statement- out loud or to herself- but she means it, so she smiles.

"I know." He smiles back.

From inside the bakery, Harry watches the pair talk and smile at each other while he waits for his order to be boxed up. It seemed like they were ready to argue at first, but the conversation simmered down quickly. At least they were productive with the time he gave them… Draco looked about ready to curse poor Nathaniel Saunders earlier. How can Draco feel so possessive of Hermione, but not want to fight for her? Harry is convinced that the Malfoys are all so blinded by anticipatory grief that they don't understand the implications of this marriage. It's utter malarkey. To make matters worse, Hermione is basically _encouraging_ said malarkey. She's probably the only person who can talk Draco out of this misguided life decision, but she's too scared to do anything about it because she doesn't want to be 'selfish' and they have to 'be supportive'.

Both Harry and Ginny agreed that they will offer any advice that the pair comes looking for and that they will _always_ lend an ear to them… But they also agreed that they _cannot_ and _will not_ interfere. If there's any hope for these two hopelessly stubborn individuals, they need to figure out everything on their own. It's the only way things will ever work out between them.

Harry and Ginny actually have a long-term bet running, which is ridiculous and downright horrible. Ginny thinks that Hermione will come to her senses first. But Harry has faith in Draco. He was smart enough to notice Hermione's brilliance once- he'll do it again. Harry's sure of it.


End file.
